Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Hearing Xia Yu's answer, Shen Jingheng felt a headache coming on. Suddenly, he remembered his mother's plan from several years ago and instantly understood why his mother had praised his relationship with Jiang Shi in front of Xia Yu back then. It was probably to pave the way for him to propose marriage to the Zhang family for his second son.

With a hint of helplessness, Shen Jingheng rubbed his temples and said to Xia Yu...

"My marriage to Lady Jiang was arranged by Consort Jiang in order to win me over. Lady Jiang has no true feelings for me. If the eldest prince had ascended the throne, Lady Jiang and I would probably be..." He paused before finishing his sentence.

Xia Yu looked at him with some confusion, waiting for him to continue, but Shen Jingheng seemed to have no intention of saying anything more, and instead sighed.

"She ultimately died because of a difficult childbirth, and in the end, I feel I've let her down!"

Hearing Shen Jingheng's words, Xia Yu felt a pang of regret. If it had been Granny Liu who delivered Jiang's baby, she wondered if the outcome would have been different. Thinking of this, she recalled Shen Jingheng's son; she hadn't heard much from him in the past two years. So she asked...

"Is Aunt Shen taking care of the eldest son? I don't seem to have heard much about him."

"..."

After Xia Yu asked her question, Shen Jingheng didn't answer immediately, and the atmosphere between them became somewhat awkward. Xia Yu felt that she wasn't very good at talking today, always bringing up topics that Lord Shen didn't like. Just as she was thinking about what excuse to use to leave, she heard Shen Jingheng's voice drift over.

That son is not mine.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xia Yu's eyes widen, her gaze filled with sympathy and regret for him.

Seeing her expression, Shen Jingheng knew she had misunderstood and quickly began to explain.

"Don't misunderstand, my child with Madam Jiang died at birth. That boy was secretly brought back by Madam Jiang from outside. Her original plan was that if Madam Jiang gave birth to a boy, she would quietly send the child away. If Madam Jiang gave birth to a girl, she would keep the boy and say that they were twins. I have already sent that child to his biological mother."

"Oh, I see," Xia Yu said dryly. She felt that she had been speaking too frankly with Lord Shen, given their short acquaintance. When did they become so open with each other? This matter concerned the reputation of both the Jiang and Shen families, and he didn't need to tell her that.

After talking for so long, Xia Yu belatedly realized that something was amiss. So she apologized to Lord Shen.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Lord Shen. I will keep it in mind. However, His Majesty is still waiting for me to return to the palace together..."

Shen Jingheng, understanding her meaning, knew she was leaving, so he slightly bowed to Xia Yu and moved aside.

"Please make yourself at home, Princess. I'm going to say a few words to the Marquis and I'm about to leave as well."

Xia Yu nodded slightly and walked past Shen Jingheng. She had originally planned to stay at home for two days after leaving the palace today, but the conversation between the two of them had become increasingly strange, making her want to escape.

Seeing that their conversation had ended, Da Niu and Shi Jiu quickly jogged to catch up. As they passed Shen Jingheng, they only gave a hurried curtsy before chasing after Xia Yu.

After watching Xia Yu and her servants leave, Shen Jingheng turned and walked in one direction. It was clear that this wasn't the way out of the Marquis's residence.

He found Zhang Youtie, who was seeing off a guest, and said a few words to him. Then Zhang Youtie politely invited him to the study.

The two talked inside for about half an hour before Shen Jingheng left the manor with his servant. Inside the study, Zhang Youtie sat blankly in his armchair, staring at the door, seemingly lost in thought.

When Madam Liu arrived, she saw him standing there in a daze. Madam Liu stepped forward and waved her hand in front of his eyes, saying...

"What are you daydreaming about? I heard from the servants that Lord Shen wanted to see you. What did you two talk about?"

Upon hearing Liu's voice, Zhang Youtie slowly turned to look at his wife, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

"Lord Shen said he wants to marry Xiaxia."

"Huh? What did you say? Say it again." Liu was startled by his words and hurriedly asked again.

"Ah, Lord Shen just came over and told me that he wants to ask for Xiaxia's hand in marriage," Zhang Youtie sighed and repeated.

"No way!" Liu refused vehemently without even thinking.

"Don't be so quick to refuse, let me analyze it for you." Zhang Youtie wasn't surprised at all by Liu's reaction. When Shen Jingheng was telling him about this earlier, his first reaction was also that it was too absurd.

"What's there to analyze? It's not that I look down on Lord Shen, but how old is he now? He's almost thirty, and he's more than ten years older than our Xiaxia! Besides, with Xiaxia's looks and character, she could find so many good families. Why does she need to find someone... to be someone's second wife and stepmother? Do you think being a stepmother is so easy? In short, I disagree with this matter."

Madam Liu was very angry, but no matter how angry she was, she ultimately didn't utter the word "widower." Her family was very grateful for Lord Shen's kindness to them, but while they were grateful, she felt that this matter should not be confused with her daughter's marriage.

"Don't be anxious, let me explain slowly," Zhang Youtie said, trying to calm Liu Shi down when he saw she was getting impatient. He helped her sit down in the chair he had just taken a seat in before speaking gently.

"When Lord Shen first brought this up, I also thought it was quite absurd. But Lord Shen also explained to me the reasons why he did it this way."

"The first point is Xiaxia's secret. Lord Shen said that in this world, how many people would not be tempted after learning that Xiaxia possesses a rare treasure? What if Xiaxia's future husband has ulterior motives after learning about the treasure? Even if he is not tempted, will Xiaxia's future husband be able to protect her for the rest of her life?"

The three questions that Zhang Youtie relayed from Shen Jingheng made Liu Shi slowly fall into deep thought.

Lord Shen is right. Putting all that aside, given Xiaxia's status and position, she could live a peaceful and respectful life no matter which family she marries into. But what if the person she marries later discovers her secret and sees her as an outsider, unable to accept her?

After a long while, Liu finally looked up at Zhang Youtie.

"Then can Lord Shen be trusted?"

"At least so far, he's trustworthy. He discovered Xiaxia's secret when we were still nobody, but he didn't use it to blackmail us or harm us. If he had even the slightest bad intention, our family wouldn't have made it this far peacefully," Zhang Youtie said earnestly, then he dropped an even bigger bombshell.

"Moreover, Lord Shen just said that his son with Madam Jiang died shortly after birth. The boy that was rumored before was secretly taken away by Madam Jiang. Now that child has been sent to his biological mother."

Seeing the shocked look on Liu's face upon hearing the news, he nodded with great certainty. Although it was regrettable that the child hadn't survived, everyone has selfish desires. Knowing that his daughter wouldn't have to be a stepmother even after marriage, he was still quite happy.

Seeing that Madam Liu remained silent with her head down, Zhang Youtie knew she needed time to process this, so he didn't say anything more, giving her time to think it over. While he was lost in thought, he had actually gone through all the eligible male guests who had come that day in his mind again. To be honest, without comparison, it wasn't apparent, but if all of them were compared to Lord Shen, it seemed that Lord Shen was still the more outstanding one.