Chapter 155: Divergent Thoughts

The group of people rode back on horseback, quickly returning to the Shen family village outside the city. By this time, the family members had already finished their discussion.

"We have decided to stay," the old matriarch spoke up as the elder of the household.

The rest of the Shen family looked at Shen Shi, waiting for his response. Although it seemed a bit incredible that this grandson was now the one calling the shots for the main branch, it wasn't entirely wrong. When the second generation lacks competence, of course one must look to the third generation.

Shen Shi's father and uncles were once again figuratively shot.

"Alright!" Shen Shi nodded.

"You agree?" The old matriarch was both surprised and delighted.

There were no longer any members of the Shen family left in Jinhua, but there were some in the capital city. Just having such a large group of kin here was enough to make the old woman want to stay. Her only hesitation was whether her grandson would be willing.

For the sake of her son, she had worried for the better part of her life; now, she only wanted to spend more time gathered with her grandson.

As for... her son?

He could go hang!

*(Shen Liang: Mother, I am your biological flesh and blood.)*

"Of course we're staying. He just won a horse ranch," Cao Jinhua was the happiest about Shen Shi staying.

Although Kaifeng wasn't far from Jinhua, the closer, the better.

"A horse ranch? What horse ranch?" the old matriarch asked.

Cao Jinhua introduced himself as Young Master Cao, a friend of Shen Shi's. Zhao Zongjing was much the same. The reason it was "much the same" was that, reckoned through Cao Jinhua, he was a full generation behind Cao Jinhua. Fortunately, Shen Shi had no intention of taking advantage of this seniority, otherwise calling someone younger than himself "uncle" would still be quite embarrassing.

"Grandmother, didn't I suggest it before? Our family will raise horses from now on," Shen Shi said.

"Raise horses?" The old matriarch hesitated a bit. "Can we really do that?"

Every dynasty and generation needed warhorses, but the horse administration of every dynasty and generation was a pitfall. Even if it wasn't a pitfall at the time, it would become one later.

And as for the Song Dynasty by now, it was undoubtedly a pitfall.

"Grandmother needn't worry, we will help with this matter. Even if the Emperor himself wants horses, we'll make him pay for them," Cao Jinhua said, not acting like an outsider at all, even calling her "grandmother."

Heh...

In the capital, the Shen family's official representative was Shen Renfu. His position was humble and his power was minor; he had never even set foot in the imperial court. However, he was deeply grounded in reality. In his view, let alone the Emperor, even a mere county magistrate was not someone the Shen family could afford to offend. As for Cao Jinhua, a braggart friend, he simply ignored him.

Therefore, he pondered for a moment and said, "Raising horses is indeed beneficial to the imperial court. However, once these horses are raised well, local governments at all levels will requisition them. If you don't give them up, you offend people. If you give them up, the horses are gone. It would be better to engage in some other business."

He was older than Shen Shi, but Shen Shi was also an official, so Shen Renfu wouldn't mock him, offering only an objective analysis. An official as young as himself, who was also a clansman, was naturally someone Shen Renfu wanted to see advance further, rather than crashing down while trying to accomplish "practical deeds."

Yes, at this point, low-ranking though his official post might be, Shen Renfu understood the current political situation: most people were engaged in "empty talk."

Although the ministers above wanted to change things, look at the New Policies they promulgated—how many people were actually implementing them?

Thus, what Shen Renfu said came from the bottom of his heart, his truest thoughts. If it weren't someone close to him, he wouldn't have said it at all.

"This uncle, you can rest easy. No one will ever dare to make trouble for the Shen family's horse ranch!" Cao Jinhua guaranteed.

That horse ranch belonged to the Emperor; how suicidal would someone have to be to cast their sights on it? That Ministry official's son was merely blowing hot air and trying to achieve something with empty hands.

This was also a bad precedent set by Zhao Kuangyin. If you lose a gamble, you don't acknowledge the debt; if you win, you collect the stakes. But as for actually letting him take the horse ranch away, they wouldn't dare even if you gave them the gall!

However, Shen Renfu didn't know that! He looked at Cao Jinhua, whose face was fair and tender, and took him for nothing more than a braggart. In fact, in his view, these people were the ones leading his own family astray.

His clansman was still young; which of the scholars in the capital city didn't engage in high-flown discourse? From the sovereign above down to the Liao and Western Xia below, there was nothing they didn't dare to discuss. It was as if all problems would be solved simply by them waving their hands.

Yet the reality was... hehehe.

"Young sir, this is the domestic business of my Shen family," Shen Renfu put on official airs.

This thoroughly panicked the female relatives who had returned to the inner courtyard, especially Shen Yuejiao, who knew that Cao Jinhua belonged to the Imperial In-law's Estate. Moreover, she held a favorable impression of him.

"What is Father trying to do?" A maid relayed the conversation from the front hall, throwing her into an anxious frenzy.

"Yuejiao, what's wrong?" Mother Shen was also in the inner courtyard and asked upon seeing Shen Yuejiao's agitation.

"Aunt, Shen Shi's friend Young Master Cao is the Imperial In-law," Shen Yuejiao said hurriedly.

"Imperial In-law? Surely not," Mother Shen recalled, saying, "I heard the Imperial In-law is in his thirties. How old is this one?"

"What? In his thirties?" Shen Yuejiao froze. She had also heard this rumor, but she knew one of them was a commandery prince, and the other might be the Emperor himself. So shouldn't the one following alongside them from the Imperial In-law's Estate naturally be the Imperial In-law? Even though he never once claimed to be the Imperial In-law from beginning to end.

"Then Aunt, could he be the Imperial In-law's younger brother?" Shen Yuejiao asked hopefully.

"Younger brother? I didn't pay attention to that, didn't inquire," Mother Shen thought for a moment, having no impression whatsoever of whether Marquis Cao actually had a younger brother.

"Aunt, then why don't you go out and ask about it?" Shen Yuejiao urged.

"You want me to go inquire?"

"Yes. Aunt, your surname is Mu after all."

"Alright, Yuejiao. The adults are discussing serious matters in the main hall, don't go stirring up trouble," Shen Yueyue said, unable to watch any longer, and scolded her slightly.

"How is this stirring up trouble? Sister, Aunt's surname is Mu, and who doesn't know Marshal Mu is much more—"

"Enough," Shen Yueyue interrupted her younger sister.

Her sister was truly becoming more and more outrageous. Yes, ever since Marshal Mu supported and raised up the Tianbo Mansion, Marshal Mu's reputation had spread far and wide. Along with it, Marshal Mu's female relatives had all become highly sought-after catches.

However, people were different; throughout the millennia, there had only been one Marshal Mu. Besides, even if Marshal Mu were present here, she wouldn't run about bustling over a matter like this.

Her sister interrupting her made Shen Yuejiao extremely annoyed.

At this point, Mother Shen grew curious and asked, "Why are you so concerned about the Imperial In-law's Estate? Don't tell me you've taken a fancy to him?"

Shen Yuejiao's face flushed red, and she was about to implicitly admit it when Mother Shen added, "Oh, that's right, I remember you are already betrothed. The other party's surname is Meng? What was his name, Longtan or something?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Shen Yuejiao's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly explained, "Aunt, I'm just concerned about our family's horse ranch. If he really is the Imperial In-law, this horse ranch can definitely be opened."

The orders of parents and the words of matchmakers had experienced a resurgence by the time of the Renzong Emperor.

Just as dark as the Five Dynasties period had been, just as rapid was the revival of Confucian ritual and propriety. Even back when Marshal Mu sought a husband, she had received no small amount of slander from court officials up and down.

Shen Yuejiao was no Mu Guiying; at the very least, the original Mu Guiying had the Mu Family Fortress as her backing. What did she have? She had nothing.

No, she wasn't completely without anything. At least the Imperial In-law was a friend of her cousin, and at least she had the advantage of a vantage point near the water to catch the moonlight first.

And this required her not to defy Aunt's intentions. If she offended her cousin's mother, how could she ever secure a good marriage for herself?