Chapter Ten: Marriage

  Shangguan Shi Yu, the little princess of the Shangguan family. She has a great reputation throughout the city of Huangsha, but unfortunately, this reputation is not good to hear. People in Huangsha City secretly call this girl a demon. And in the Shangguan family, Shangguan Shi Yu's affairs are even more taboo!

  In the Upper Official's household, privately discussing two sentences about the overbearing master Upper Official Tie was at most scolded, but if one dared to discuss Upper Official Shi Yu, they would be lightly chased out of the house or heavily... disappear without a reason!

  Judging by the name, one would think that this is a delicate beauty, in fact, Shangguan Shi Yu, who is only thirteen years old this year, is indeed a beautiful girl, of course, all of this is on the premise that you don't look at the color of Shangguan Shi Yu's skin.

  It is said that when Shangguan Shi Yu was just born, she was a very normal baby, white and chubby, very cute. However, the moment the midwife picked her up, her whole body suddenly began to spread with a dark blue glow, scaring the midwife so much that she immediately threw Shangguan Shi Yu onto the bed and fell to the ground dead.

  This also added a few points to the credibility of the rumor that Shangguan Shi Yu was the reincarnation of a demon, if not for the strong protection of the family head, Shangguan Tie, she would have been secretly dealt with by those fearful clan members long ago. Even Shangguan Shi Yu's parents could not resist the pressure from the entire family.

  So, Shangguan Shi Yu has a good grandfather.

  A blue-skinned little girl with countless rumors, grew up slowly in the Shangguan family, from small to large, she never left the mansion once. As a lady of the house, Shangguan Shi Yu's knowledge was beyond doubt! No matter what aspect of knowledge, as long as she wanted to learn, Shangguan Tie would always satisfy this granddaughter.

  However, due to Shangguan Shi Yu's blue skin, many teachers who came to teach her were scared away. Although Shangguan Tie issued a gag order, the saying goes that good news doesn't spread far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. The news of the demonic girl in the Shangguan household still spread like wildfire throughout the city.

  In the end, Shangguan Tie had no choice but to issue a death order within the family: if anyone dared to mock Shangguan Shi Yu, regardless of who it was, they would be severely punished! Not even letting Shangguan Shi Yu suffer a little bit of grievance was allowed!

  So, Shangguan Shi Yu grew up in such an environment, and although she had a different skin from others, even she herself did not feel like a monster.

  Until a year ago, Shangguan Shi Yu's sixth uncle took in a concubine. The woman from another city had never heard of Shangguan Shi Yu before and when she saw her, her face was filled with shock as she exclaimed: "Ghost!"

  Because of this matter, Shangguan Tie showed his strong side and immediately drove the woman out, while warning her not to talk nonsense everywhere, otherwise the consequences would be unbearable for her!

  This woman was driven out on the first day she entered the door, and her natal family naturally didn't let it go. They brought a large group of people to the door to reason things out. This matter also inevitably spread out. The furious Shangguan Tie directly mobilized the elite forces of the Shangguan family and killed those who came to reason things out until not a single one was left!

  That day, blood flowed like rivers at the entrance of the Magistrate's office!

  At the same time, the demon girl of the Shangguan family also became the most enduring topic in the entire city of Huangsha once again.

  It was because of this incident that the 12-year-old Shangguan Shi Yu finally understood her situation, and it turned out that she was unwelcome, and someone even said she was a monster. The young Shangguan Shi Yu, who had been familiar with the classics since childhood, naturally understood the meaning of these two words. After that incident, the originally lively and cheerful little princess of the Shangguan family disappeared, replaced by a girl who almost completely closed herself off, not speaking to anyone except her grandfather, becoming a mute.

  Shangguan Tie saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart. According to the laws of Qinglong Country, girls could get married at 14 years old and boys at 16 years old. Shangguan Shi Yu is already 13 years old this year, and she's almost at the age where she should be looking for a husband, but which big family would be willing to marry her?

  Throughout the entire Qinglong country, for hundreds of years, nothing like this has ever happened. Almost everyone, including the majority of the Shangguan family itself, thinks that Shangguan Shi Yu is an unlucky girl.

  Watching Shangguan Shi Yu grow more and more beautiful every day, Shangguan Tie became increasingly anxious. So he came up with the idea of publicly selecting a son-in-law. Was there anyone who wanted to marry Shangguan Shi Yu? Not only was there someone, but many people!

  Those people, either had a status far inferior to Shangguan Shi Yu's, or were fixated on the dowry that would come with marrying into the Shangguan family. After all, when the young mistress of the Shangguan family married, her dowry was comparable to the entire wealth of a small clan! How could people not be tempted?

  What Shangguan Tie wants is for his beloved granddaughter to be happy! Can Shangguan Shi Yu, who is extremely talented and has a high IQ, find happiness by marrying an ordinary person who can't even recognize a single character? Not to mention those who are after her wealth. Who would think of taking my precious granddaughter back home as a decoration, and then use her dowry to support other women elsewhere and live a carefree life? Don't even think about it!

  Just two days ago, the master of the Qin family, Qin Hongyuan, suddenly came to visit and actually wanted to get involved in the most profitable transportation and wine business of the Shangguan family!

  What a joke, Shangguan Tie subconsciously wanted to refuse Qin Hongyuan, he wasn't afraid of the Qin family at all. In terms of financial resources, although the Shangguan and Fang families were known as the three major families in Huangsha City along with the Qin family, many people knew that in reality, even if you combined the Fang and Qin families, they might not be as wealthy as the Shangguan family!

  As for the forces, without mentioning how many powerful people exist in the Shangguan family with a history of over 500 years, just the fact that Shangguan Tie's second daughter was once the emperor's most beloved concubine is something that the Qin family cannot match.

  Just as the words of refusal were about to come out, a sudden thought flashed through Shangguan Tie's mind, and he swallowed back the words that had reached his lips. He looked at Qin Hongyuan's embarrassed expression and suddenly said: "Your younger daughter, Han Yue, is she... having an illegitimate child?"

  As soon as Shangguan Tie asked this question, Qin Hongyuan's face turned red with anger and shame. This matter was like Shangguan Shi Yu, it couldn't be hidden from others. But as the master of the Qin family in Huangsha City, who else would dare to ask such a question directly? Qin Hongyuan had no choice but to fight him to the death.

  Qin Hongyuan is also a cunning old man, although he was uncomfortable, but found that Shangguan Tie did not directly refuse him. To be honest, Qin Hongyuan didn't have much confidence in the business of those two pieces either. This time, he came just to rely on his many years of friendship to try his luck.

  Qin Hongyu nodded slightly, smiled bitterly and said: "This matter has also spread throughout the city! Alas, it's embarrassing! Brother Tie, I'm ashamed to say that it's all because of my poor teaching of my daughter, making you laugh at me!"

  Shangguan's heart suddenly felt a surge of joy, it seemed that this old thing really didn't know who the father of that illegitimate child was, which was great! Thinking to himself, he shook his head: "Hongyuan, you and I have known each other since childhood, and we also studied at the same academy. Calculating it, we've known each other for almost 80 years! How could I possibly mock you? Alas, my family matters, you're not unaware of them, are you saying that I don't worry about them?"

  Qin Hong's heart skipped a beat as he heard the words, first feeling a sense of incredulity, followed by wild joy. He looked at Shangguan Tie and asked in a trembling voice: "Could it be... could it be that you're thinking?"

  Shangguan Tie nodded slightly and sighed: "Two poor children, if they can really be together, it's not a bad thing! Let them go to the Imperial City to live in the future, away from the right and wrong here, what do you think?"

  "Alright, alright, great!" Qin Hongyuan hastily agreed.

  This was simply the best news, and after years of self-cultivation, Qin Hongyuan barely managed to control his emotions, but his eyes couldn't help but reveal a hint of complacency.

  What made Qin Hongyuan somewhat puzzled was that when the two parted ways, he clearly saw a hint of complacency in Shangguan Tie's eyes, which left him very perplexed. He didn't bother to think about it, because no matter what, the relationship between the Qin family's transportation and wine business had been established, and it would be beneficial for the Qin family's future business!

  Watching Qin Hong's departing back, Shangguan Tie couldn't help but take a deep breath, coldly sneering in his heart. He was very clear about the kind of life Qin Han Yue and her son had been living in the Qin family all these years. He thought to himself: You old scoundrel Qin, there will come a day when you'll regret this!

  Shangguan Tie's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to that breezy and sunny afternoon fourteen years ago.