Chapter 214 - 213: Business
Night fell, and a profound silence settled over everything.
Zhou Shuwei and Elder Zhan had been settled into the guest courtyard.
Chen Li summoned Shouheng to the study.
"In the study today, Zhou Shuwei brought something up," Chen Li said, his voice calm as he got straight to the point.
Chen Shouheng’s heart tightened. He looked at his father, his expression questioning. "What was it?"
"She wishes to offer the Zhou Family Textile Workshop as a dowry and proposed a marriage alliance with our family. She wants you to marry her niece, Zhou Qingyi."
Chen Shouheng was stunned. He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
He never would have imagined Zhou Shuwei would propose such terms.
Before he could react, Chen Li continued, "I refused. I told her a marriage alliance is possible, but if you’re to marry someone, it will be Zhou Shuwei herself."
At these words, Chen Shouheng was so shocked he froze on the spot. It took him a long while to come to his senses, his face a mask of disbelief. "Father... How could you?"
"And why not?"
Chen Li looked at his son. "Let me ask you, setting aside her age and family background for a moment, what is your impression of her as a person? If you were to marry her, could you accept it?"
Chen Shouheng felt a little embarrassed by his father’s blunt question. His cheeks grew warm, and he avoided his father’s gaze. After a moment of hesitation, he answered honestly, "Miss Shuwei... she is strong and capable, thorough in her affairs, and she has... indeed, taken very good care of me.
At the Martial Arts Academy, she looked out for me in many small matters. She even... often covered my expenses out of her own pocket. If... if we’re really talking about marriage, and if she agreed, I would certainly be willing."
Chen Li listened quietly and nodded, but he wasn’t satisfied with the answer. "You are willing, but is it only because you feel she treats you well, or is there another reason?"
Chen Shouheng faltered. "Father, you mean..."
"From the moment you participated in the County Examination and revealed your Spirit Realm Cultivation, she has been constantly looking after you, showering you with attention. Was it love at first sight, or was she simply interested in your future potential?"
Chen Li paused, then answered his own question, his words as sharp as a knife. "Neither. What she’s interested in are the tangible benefits you might bring to her Zhou Family in the future. From her deliberate attempts to get close to you after the County Examination, to her ’investment’ in you, to pulling you into the Martial Arts Academy to study...
...all of it, from the very beginning, was done with clear intent and careful calculation. This is a long-term emotional investment, all so that one day, you can be of use to her, of use to the Zhou Family."
"But..."
Chen Shouheng’s expression shifted several times. His father’s words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly cooling the warm gratitude he had felt from her care.
Upon reflection, many of Zhou Shuwei’s actions did show a level of concern and initiative far beyond that of an ordinary woman.
"If you knew all this, Father, then why... why would you still want me to marry her?"
Confusion and a trace of resentment welled up in Chen Shouheng’s heart, and his voice grew low.
Chen Li said calmly, "In this world, eight or nine out of ten marriages, at their core, are about nothing more than mutual benefit. Pure love is as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin’s horn. It’s true whether it’s a match of social equals, a union of two strong powers, or a weaker party seeking attachment and protection."
He looked at his son, his gaze like a torch. "Setting aside her initial motives, let’s consider her as a person. To be able to single-handedly support her family through its decline for so many years—her methods, her temperament, her abilities are all Superior.
If she is willing to genuinely marry into our Chen Family, she would be a great asset to you, a truly good match. One should marry a worthy wife, and worthiness lies not only in virtue but also in capability. As for everything else, that is secondary."
A bitter, wry smile touched Chen Shouheng’s lips. "According to you, Father, even if she marries me, her heart and mind will still be with her Zhou Family? Will there always be a layer of calculation and benefit between us?"
"Naturally."
Chen Li answered without a shred of hesitation. "She proposed this alliance to save the Zhou Family in the first place. In her eyes, trading marriage for her family’s survival is an extremely worthwhile transaction. Feelings, for her, are not the primary consideration—at least not at this moment."
A brief silence fell over the study, punctuated by the crackle of the candlelight.
After a long while, Chen Shouheng finally let out a breath and asked, "Then... Father, if she agrees, do we accept?"
"Why wouldn’t we?"
Chen Li smiled, but his smile held a chill. "Benefit is the most stable foundation. Once she gives up on the Zhou Family, her focus will naturally fall upon you. Her job will be to be your wife and a daughter-in-law of the Chen Family, and to be content with that.
However, I must analyze all the pros and cons with you clearly. I’d rather not have you, you foolish boy, be manipulated by emotions in the future, getting swindled and still happily counting money for the one who tricked you, completely oblivious."
Chen Shouheng looked at his father, a heavy tightness in his chest.
The night grew deeper.
Chen Shouheng took his leave.
As he stepped out of the study and was about to close the door, his father’s voice came from behind him. "In a few days, return to the Martial Arts Academy and focus on your training. Everything else is secondary. Only strength is the foundation of one’s standing. Reach the Profound Acupoint Pass as soon as possible."
"Yes, Father."
Chen Shouheng paused, stood silently for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
...
「Liyang.」
The carriage wheels rumbled dully over the cobblestone streets.
The carriage slowly pulled into the Zhou Mansion.
A servant had already brought out a mounting stool. Zhou Shuwei lifted her skirts and stepped down. Gazing at the familiar sight, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of gloom.
Elder Zhan, in the carriage behind her, was still being carried on a stretcher and was taken directly to the rear courtyard.
She had just reached the covered walkway when she saw Zhou Qingyi hurrying toward her, holding up her skirts.
"Aunt, you’re finally back." Zhou Qingyi asked anxiously, "How are Elder Zhan’s injuries? Is he cured?"
Zhou Shuwei glanced at her niece. "Elder Zhan’s injuries have been left for too long. An evil poison has seeped into the very roots of his meridians. He can’t be fully healed. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."
"What?"
Hearing this, the anticipation on Zhou Qingyi’s face froze. Her voice shot up, laced with complaint. "Leave it to fate? Aunt, I told you! The Chen Family are just some country bumpkins with money. What real skills could they possibly have? But you wouldn’t listen! You insisted on dragging Elder Zhan on this tiring trip. All this bumping around back and forth... wasn’t it all just a pointless hassle?"
Zhou Shuwei turned her head. Her gaze was ice-cold, and her voice dropped. "A hassle? Who exactly is to blame for Elder Zhan’s injuries in the first place? Who was it that gullibly trusted someone else, leading the Zhou Family to this disaster?"
At the mention of this, Zhou Qingyi reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her face flushed crimson with shame and anger, but she still stubbornly argued back, "Aunt, you... what do you mean by that? If you really want to trace it back to the source, isn’t the root of this whole disaster you? How can you blame it all on me?
If you hadn’t been acting like you were possessed, insisting on roping in that Chen Shouheng, and even abandoning all our family’s affairs to go to the He Niu Martial Arts Academy and ’accompany’ his cultivation, leaving the entire Zhou Family to me—someone with no experience—how could such a huge mess have happened? And now it’s all my fault?"
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, and the more she convinced herself she was right. She channeled all her fear, frustration, and resentment into accusations against Zhou Shuwei. "I don’t know anything! You all left, one by one, leaving me with this huge mess. Now that something’s gone wrong, it’s all become my fault..."
Zhou Shuwei looked at Zhou Qingyi and no longer had any desire to argue with her. The last flicker of hope in her heart was completely extinguished.
She turned away from Zhou Qingyi, slowly closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, feeling nothing but boundless desolation and exhaustion.
’The Zhou Family’s century of fortune... has it really come to an end?’
’Is this the will of heaven, something beyond human power to change?’
Only when Zhou Qingyi’s chirping complaints finally subsided did Zhou Shuwei open her eyes again. In a tone of almost numb calm, she said flatly, "Elder Zhan is grievously injured and won’t recover. He can no longer protect the Zhou Family in the short term. There’s no way we can gather the fifty thousand bolts of official tribute silk for the Textile Bureau. The Zhou Family... can’t be saved."
Zhou Qingyi froze, not quite processing what she had heard.
Zhou Shuwei continued, "The only path left for us is to sell off all our properties, shops, and manors in the Commandery City for silver taels. We’ll use the money to buy silk at high prices to meet this year’s official tribute. After that... I’ll take you back to Ping’an Village. We still have a few thousand mu of low-grade fields and the old family home there. It’s enough for the two of us to live on."
"What?"
Zhou Qingyi looked as if she had been struck by lightning, her eyes flying wide open. "Aunt! Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what you’re saying? Generation after generation of our Zhou Family poured their blood and sweat, endured so much hardship, just to claw their way out of that poor backwater to the Commandery City and build this foundation.
And you’re just going to throw it all away? Sell everything? And then go back to that godforsaken countryside? I won’t go! I’d rather die than go back there!"
Zhou Shuwei wearily shook her head. "I’m not crazy. Qingyi, don’t you see? Without Elder Zhan, how can two defenseless women like us protect this estate? Going back, getting away from this place of conflict, is the best and only way out right now."
"The best way out?"
Zhou Qingyi was trembling with rage. "If you want to go back, you can go by yourself! I will never leave the Commandery City. I refuse to go back to that country place!"
With that, she shot Zhou Shuwei a fierce glare, then turned and ran off crying, her skirts whipping up a gust of wind.
Watching Zhou Qingyi’s retreating back, Zhou Shuwei heaved a deep sigh, feeling utterly exhausted in both body and soul.
Zhou Qingyi ran all the way back to her chambers and threw herself onto her bed. The more she thought about it, the angrier and more wronged she felt.
’Aunt must have been bewitched by some Evil Skill that Chen Shouheng used on her. That’s the only reason she’s being so unreasonable.’
’She wants to give up on generations of the Zhou Family’s hard work. I can’t just stand by and watch the family be destroyed like this.’
The more she thought, the more restless she became, a wicked fire pent up in her heart with nowhere to go.
She shot to her feet and called for her personal maid. "Prepare the carriage. We’re going to the Jingxin Nunnery."
The carriage was prepared quickly.
With her personal maid in tow, Zhou Qingyi left the Commandery City and traveled to the Jingxin Nunnery on the outskirts.
The nunnery was in a quiet, secluded setting, and its incense offerings were not particularly bustling.
But it was well-known among some of the young ladies and wealthy wives of the Commandery City as a rare place of peace and quiet.
Zhou Qingyi used to come here often for small gatherings with a few of her close friends.
This time, however, she hadn’t come to relax with her friends. She was filled with resentment, here to offer incense and pray for the Bodhisattva’s intervention, hoping her aunt would soon come to her senses.
She knelt before the golden statue of the Bodhisattva, her hands pressed together and eyes closed in pious prayer, silently chanting her pleas.
When she finished praying, she picked up a bamboo tube of fortune sticks and anxiously shook one out.
She picked it up and looked. It was a mid-to-low-grade fortune slip.
Zhou Qingyi’s heart sank, and her face was instantly clouded with sorrow.