Chapter 56: The Daughter's Home

  Sheng Siyan stood at the door, looking at Wang with some unease, thinking about how to start a conversation that wouldn't make Wang feel embarrassed.

  Wang saw that she wanted to speak but hesitated, got up and beckoned her over, holding her hand and asked: "What's wrong? Is there something you can't tell your mother?"

  Sheng Siyan raised her head and looked at Wang Shi, stretched out her arms to hug Wang Shi, and buried her head in her bosom.

  Wang smiled and patted her shoulder, hugging her to sit down on the side of the bed, softly asking: "Who made you feel wronged? Or is your little sister thinking about your things again?"

  Sheng Siyan looked up in surprise, "Mother, you know?"

  "What doesn't she know?" Wang smiled and stroked the hair on Sheng Siyan's forehead, revealing her smooth and delicate skin, as shiny as fine jade.

  Sheng Siyan followed Wang's words and smiled softly: "Does the lady know that I just went to Erniang's Cui Zhu Xuan?"

  "Just now?" Mr. Wang shook his head, "This girl won't know yet. Probably will only find out tonight."

  Sheng Siyan's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly remembered that her maid had to report back to Wang Shi every day, telling her everything she did from dawn till dusk.

  It's clear that for a mother-in-law, although she can't watch her child every minute, it's not a problem to keep an eye on her child's every move with her own eyes and ears. Unless she simply doesn't want to care.

  Since she couldn't hide it, Sheng Siyan didn't bother to think of an excuse either. She muttered: "I went to the Emerald Bamboo Pavilion to ask my aunt why she wanted to take mother's share of the fabric and satin... those thick fabrics and brocades weren't something she could wear..."

  Wang's eyes flickered towards Sheng Siyan, his hand paused for a moment before gently coming to rest on Sheng Siyan's shoulder.

  Sheng Siyan didn't dare to raise her head and look into Wang's eyes, continuing in a low voice: "The result... the result... Second Aunt said, if it's not for marriage, then it's for concubinage..." As she spoke, she tightened her headscarf even more.

  Wang sighed and bowed his head, gently bumping the top of Sheng Siyan's head. "I've wronged you, Mother owes you an apology..."

  Sheng Siyan: "=_=" What's with this rhythm? How did I wrong her? Isn't this the Wang family's heartache?

  "Mother, I'm fine. It's you who shouldn't be sad about this matter. It's not a big deal. Now that Father has succeeded to the title..."

  Sheng Siyan spoke as she lifted her head, and what she saw was a pair of eyes from Wang that pitied her to the extreme.

  "...... Miss, why are you looking at me like that?" Sheng Siyan was surprised, she was supposed to come and comfort Wang Shi, and think of a solution together.

  Wang patted Sheng Siyan's head and said softly, "I originally wanted to keep this from you. Unfortunately, you're too clever. And that Tu Shi is too showy."

  "Mother, how can this be hidden from me? Second Aunt is obviously uneasy about being a concubine and wants to use this matter to control you!" Sheng Siyan was somewhat disappointed.

  Wang smiled instead and nodded: "She wants to control me, that's right, but whether or not she can rest easy being a concubine is not up to her. Don't be intimidated by her."

  "Could it be that I'm overreacting? Mother, you've given her all the authority and even your own share, yet you're telling me not to be intimidated by her? --- Mother, are you out of your mind...?"

  Wang patted her head again and said, "Do you think Mother is someone who can be threatened?"

  "Of course not." Sheng Siyan said immediately. Then she shrunk her neck, "But recently it seems... after all, eloping is a bad reputation, I understand." Sheng Siyan made an effort to appear understanding and reasonable, wanting Wang Shi to feel more at ease, recognizing that she had grown up. Although ten years old was not marriageable age, she was already considered a big girl. In the Great Xia Dynasty, girls of this age were already starting to learn about managing the household.

  Wang shook his head and looked at her, saying: "You think that Mother yielded to the Tu family for the sake of her own reputation?"

  Sheng Siyan made a "I understand" expression, with a pair of big and bright phoenix eyes shining brightly, the corners of her eyes raised sharply, like a person in a painting.

  "Your eyes are really beautiful." Wang suddenly said an irrelevant sentence, then turned back as if nothing had happened and said: "Actually, my mother has been married to your father for many years, and now she is the wife of the Duke of Guo Gongfu. Tu Shi thought that using the title 'eloping' could control me, but she miscalculated. However, she can't control me, what she actually controls is you."

  "What?!" Sheng Siyan's face turned awkward, "No way?! What does she have to do with me?"

  Looking at Sheng Siyan's puzzled expression, Wang Shi carefully explained: "Eloping is not a good thing. In our Great Xia Dynasty, the punishment for eloping is very severe. Generally speaking, when two people who have eloped are discovered, the man will be removed from the family tree, and all his property and land will be confiscated by the clan. The man himself will be bound up and privately executed by the clan. The woman will either be sent back home or thrown into a well to drown. Either way, both families will lose face."

  Sheng Siyan thought for a moment and said, "But our Sheng family's direct line has already been exterminated, if Father is also stripped of his clan..." Then their direct line would be completely gone.

  The direct line had no one, so this title was naturally inherited by a collateral branch.

  Sheng Siyan's face turned pale. Could it be that this matter was not just a simple case of Tou Shi having an affair with a small concubine?

  Wang heard her words, tilted his head and thought for a moment, saying: "Maybe it's not that complicated. In fact, we have already inherited the title, and at first, it was inevitable. Even if we talk to Empress Dowager, we are not afraid. What we worry about is that once this matter spreads out, your reputation..." He looked deeply at Sheng Siyan after finishing speaking.

  "What's my reputation got to do with it?" Sheng Siyan was baffled and muttered, "I'm not the one who eloped with someone, what does it have to do with me?"

  The Wang family felt even more sorry for her, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She said: "You young girl don't understand these things, but since you already know about them, Mother won't hide it from you anymore. Do you know what kind of status children born to eloped couples have?"

  Sheng Siyan shook her head, she really hadn't thought about what this matter had to do with herself.

  “…According to the laws of Dashan, children born out of wedlock are considered illegitimate.” Wang said with a face full of shame, “Mother owes you an apology…” Even though Wang was now the legitimate wife, she couldn't erase the stain of her past.

  Illegitimate child, in terms of legal status, is the same as an extramarital child, but its reputation is even worse than that of an extramarital child.

  Sheng Siyan is not a promiscuous woman now, but if someone deliberately spreads her reputation by taking advantage of the Wang family's private elopement, it will be difficult for her to get married in the future.

  It turned out that Wang's tolerance of Tu was for Sheng Siyan...

  After all the twists and turns, I am the biggest loser?

  Sheng Siyan wasn't worried at all, but was instead deeply moved. She just didn't want to cry in front of Wang Shi, so she buried her head in Wang Shi's chest and rubbed it gently, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Then, in a low voice, she said: "Mother, you don't have to be afraid of her. She has three children..."

  Wang smiled and said, "Of course I know. I told her not to be too excessive. She wants to manage the household and have things, I'll give her a share, but don't think about really interfering with major family matters. If she forces me to be anxious, I only have one daughter, but she has two sons. In the end, let's see who loses more!"

  Sheng Siyan also smiled and said, "I scared her too, I told her almost the same thing as you did. No wonder she's being so honest now." Then she curiously asked, "Mother, where is your hometown actually? Are my grandparents still alive?"

  Wang patted her forehead with his fingers and scolded, "Look at you being so clever, your father doesn't have that many tricks up his sleeve. In the beginning, your maternal grandfather really didn't agree..."

  "But, Mother, if you could run out of the house with Father, doesn't that mean Grandfather intentionally let you go? Otherwise, how could you have escaped from home? Did all the maids and servants at the second gate fall asleep?" Sheng Siyan said with a pout.

  Wang was stunned. She thought blankly, could it be that her father had deliberately let her go back then?

  "And besides, I also scared Er Niang into saying that if she dares to spread this matter out, Father will punish her with the crime of 'concubine offending wife', and send her to the government office. At that time, the Grand Justice Temple will teach Er Niang how to be a concubine! " Sheng Siyan chuckled, "I remember that Yao Nu Guan said that Wang Zhiyuan, the grand justice of the Grand Justice Temple, is very formidable, and can even overturn cases with complete evidence..."

  When Wang heard Sheng Siyan say "The Temple of Great Wisdom teaches the second aunt how to be a concubine", her expression suddenly became very strange.

  Sheng Siyan didn't notice, she was in a great mood and continued to say excitedly: "Mother, now that you are the wife of the Duke, shouldn't you return to your hometown for a visit? Maybe Grandfather and Grandmother already know about it and are waiting for you to come back!"

  Wang's eyes cleared, and she smiled faintly. "It won't do," she said. "Before Your Majesty wakes up, I cannot acknowledge them." This was an indirect response to Sheng Siyan's words, implying that Wang's parents were still alive.

  "Why?"

  "If Your Majesty doesn't wake up, our family's injustice can't be washed away. If our family's injustice can't be washed away, then the fact that I eloped with your father will come to light, and your maternal grandfather, who knew about it but didn't report it, will also be implicated."

  In other words, when Wang's family eloped at first, her natal family must have known that the "remnant" of the Sheng family's orthodox lineage, Sheng Qiye, had appeared, but they knew and did not report it. This point alone is enough to bring down Wang's natal family.

  If Wang's father was an official in the court, his political enemies would definitely not let this matter go.

  Because at that time, Sheng Qiye was still a "wanted criminal". If we trace back to the source, even if Wang's family could escape this disaster, they would have to lose some skin.

  So Mr. Wang chose to remain silent and adopted a yielding attitude towards Mr. Tu's blackmail, just not wanting to make this matter big.

  Second update. I said it's a feel-good story, don't you believe me? The pink tickets seemed to be quite few this morning, dare you vote for a few more? A loud shout: There will be a third update tonight! Let's see if we can shout out some pink tickets and recommendation votes~~~