RWNEFE -Chapter 319 So That My Family Can Live Freely and Comfortably

Afterward, Shen Lanxi even felt she had been quite generous—she had actually stood there watching them put on their crying and pleading performance for a full quarter of an hour.

She had given them a chance, but unfortunately, they hadn’t cherished it.

At dinner that evening, the Shen family gathered together. Zhang Zifen’s children were all present, yet not a single one mentioned pleading for their mother again.

It seemed that, in the end, family affection could not overcome self-interest.

Since returning from the northwest, this was the first time Shen Lanxi had seen so many people in the family gathered together.

Shen Yuantang, who was to be engaged the next day, was dressed in ornaments and fine silks. Her figure had fully matured, and her features bore a faint resemblance to Shen Lanxi’s.

“Elder Sister,” Shen Yuantang greeted softly.

Shen Lanxi couldn’t help frowning. “You trained in martial arts while in Dongchuan. How did you become so delicate now?”

Unspoken after the word “delicate” was another word: affected.

Shen Yuantang never wanted to recall the days of exile in Dongchuan. To her, those days were a humiliation. Whenever she walked among the noble ladies, she felt they looked at her strangely, as though she were beneath them.

Why should she be? She had once been the admired daughter of a princess. If not for the Shen family’s downfall, she would have been living in glory now, not envying others.

“Elder Sister, could you not mention Dongchuan? I am a woman—it’s only natural to be a bit delicate,” Shen Yuantang said, twisting her handkerchief, her tone coy yet tinged with displeasure.

Shen Lanxi gave her a long look, then glanced at the other young women in the family. Each of them was adorned with jewelry, their pendants tinkling softly, silk handkerchiefs constantly in hand, as if they had all been cast from the same mold. She wasn’t sure whether to feel mocking or sorrowful.

“Very well,” Shen Lanxi said, then fell silent.

A few perceptive people sensed the strange atmosphere and quickly began talking about amusing happenings in the capital to lighten the mood.

The meal finally ended. Shen Lanxi silently set down her chopsticks, and before leaving, said:

“I struggle and work outside so that everyone in this family can live freely and comfortably. If any of you are dissatisfied with your marriages, come to me.”

She had barely stepped out when Shen Congwen slammed his hand on the table.

“Since when has it been a woman’s place to decide the marriages of children? Such matters have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers!”

“Elder Brother, Lanxi didn’t say anything wrong. Why are you so angry?” someone tried to calm him.

“Lanxi is thinking of the family,” another added.

Shen Congwen, burning with anger, retorted, “What do you mean she ‘struggles outside’? Am I, her father, just an idle good-for-nothing who does nothing all day, with the entire Shen family relying on her alone?”

Hearing this, the rest of the Shen family fell silent.

Shen Congwen grumbled a few more times, but seeing no one respond, he finally went back to his room in frustration.

The next day was Shen Yuantang’s engagement.

They had expected the Marquis of Jining’s household to invite several distinguished guests, but to everyone’s surprise, only two distant uncles from collateral branches and a steward came. Even the betrothal gifts were few and ordinary.

It was nothing like the grand occasion the Shen family had imagined.

Most of the Shen family looked displeased, but Shen Yuantang alone, filled with the anticipation of marriage, remained cheerful.

In Shen Lanxi’s memory, her mother had never cared much about such matters. Now that she had finally taken an interest in her daughter’s marriage, the groom’s family was treating it so perfunctorily.

And yet, could her mother truly ignore such disrespect?

Shen Lanxi realized she had overestimated her mother—and also overestimated the love parents held for their children.

From beginning to end, the engagement ceremony was carried out hastily. Even a few of the usually oblivious uncles voiced dissatisfaction, yet both father and mother said nothing.

“Elder Sister, what does the Xue family mean by this? They clearly don’t take us seriously,” Shen Yuanjing said angrily.

Shen Lanxi replied, “Look at Yuantang now. If the engagement were broken off, she would hate whoever did it.”

After returning to the capital, Shen Yuanjing had not yet spoken much with his younger siblings. In his memory, they had once been united and close, but now it felt as though everyone had changed.

In any case, this marriage had been personally arranged by the Empress. Even if only to save face, it shouldn’t have been handled so shabbily.

Shen Lanxi said,
“Go investigate whether something has happened on the Xue family’s side.”

“Yes.”

That very afternoon, someone quietly went to the Zhenbei Marquis’s residence.

Shen Lanxi hadn’t expected that the first person to come looking for her would be Shen Yuanruan.

“Elder Sister, I don’t want to marry into a noble family. I want to marry into the Zhenbei Army.”

Shen Lanxi looked at her. “Do you have someone in mind?”

Shen Yuanruan lowered her head slightly. “No.”

Shen Lanxi said, “Life in the Zhenbei Army is not as comfortable as marrying into a noble family.”

Shen Yuanruan seemed very nervous, her hands constantly clutching her clothes.

She had not been seen at the engagement banquet. Seeing her plainly dressed now, Shen Lanxi guessed that some people bore grudges, and that her life after returning to the capital had not been easy.

“Elder Sister… I want to marry far away,” Shen Yuanruan said, as if mustering all her courage, her head lowering even further after speaking.

“Have you thought it through?” Shen Lanxi asked.

“I have,” Shen Yuanruan answered quickly, afraid of losing this chance.

She had thought that returning to the capital would mean resuming the life of a noble young lady. She had been wrong. The people in this household were selfish, cold, and resentful, constantly making things difficult for her.

A few days earlier, she had overheard her mother and grandmother discussing marrying her off far away as a second wife.

Back in Dongchuan, she had only wanted to survive—what had she done wrong? Why could her sisters marry into powerful families while she was to be sent far away to become someone’s replacement wife?

Few second wives ever had good fates.

The Zhenbei Army, however, was disciplined, and with Shen Lanxi’s influence there, as long as she still bore the Shen surname, whoever married her would not dare mistreat her.

Shen Lanxi said, “You may marry far away, but not into the Zhenbei Army. Go back and think carefully, then give me your answer.”

Shen Yuanruan wanted to respond immediately, but hesitated.

Where would she be married off to if she went far away? What if it turned out worse than being a second wife?

“Elder Sister, may I know whom you intend to marry me to?”

“Marriage is your own matter,” Shen Lanxi replied. “I can allow you to marry far away, but whom you marry—you must find yourself.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuanruan felt resentment rise in her heart. Shen Lanxi clearly did not want to take responsibility for her.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have come at all.

“Cherish this. It may be one of the few chances you ever have to choose for yourself,” Shen Lanxi said, no longer wishing to look at her calculating expression, and gestured for her to leave.

As Shen Yuanruan was led out, she kept thinking about Shen Lanxi’s words.

The moment she left the Zhenbei Marquis’s residence, she curled her lip.

Easy for her to say. Without someone to back her, what good choices could she possibly have?

If she didn’t want to help, she should just say so—why speak in such grand, self-righteous terms? Hypocrite.

…

Shen Lanxi soon received a secret report:

“The imperial mausoleum caught fire. All the guards stationed there were burned to death.”