Chapter 8

The next day was the "head seven" of Sun's death, the day of the grand memorial service for the fourth branch of the family. From early morning, the residence of Shen Juren (Shen the scholar) opened its doors to welcome guests.

In the mourning tent, dozens of monks, draped in their robes, held golden gongs and copper cymbals, chanting continuously; dozens of Taoist priests, dressed in feathered robes, held reed pipes and bamboo flutes, their chanting never ceasing.

The mourning hall was draped in white, and Shen Juren, dressed in mourning clothes, greeted the clan relatives and friends with a sorrowful expression. Looking at the handsome young man in mourning before the altar, and hearing that he had already passed the college examination and achieved the "small triple first," if not for his mother's death, he would have been able to take the imperial examination next year, the guests who came to pay their respects, besides offering condolences to Shen Juren, could not help but praise him with the phrase "the young phoenix's voice is clearer than the old phoenix's."

Shen Juren, though modest in his words, could not help but stroke his beard, his face showing satisfaction.

Such a scene, while unremarkable to outsiders, was a sharp thorn in the eyes of many clan members who were close to the fourth branch. Many looked surprised, their eyes fixed on the head of the main branch, the clan elder.

The clan elder seemed oblivious, his head lowered as he drank tea. As the head of the clan, with the old clan elder now advanced in years, though still bearing the title, the daily affairs of the clan were mostly handled by the clan elder. Since he did not speak, even if other branch heads had doubts, they did not dare to say anything.

Sitting at the end of the clan relatives was the ninth branch's top scholar, Shen Li. Seeing Shen Juren's behavior, he immediately felt a surge of anger.

He sat at the end only because of his seniority; no one in the clan dared to look down on this top scholar. Though he was in mourning and not in office, he was not yet thirty, and besides having a clan uncle as a high official in the capital, he also had the Grand Secretary's family as his in-laws, so he did not lack for patrons. Once his mourning period was over and he returned to office, his future was indeed bright.

Others, considering Shen Juren's face, though they had doubts, mostly remained silent, deep in thought. Only Shen Li, who had been worried all night, could no longer hold back. Frowning, he said, "Uncle Yuan, where is Brother Rui? Who is this person, and why is he occupying the position of the filial son before Aunt's altar?"

When Shen Li returned to his hometown, Sun was already seriously ill, but had not yet passed away. Shen Li, dressed in mourning, avoided visiting her, but he had seen Shen Rui. Even though he thought Shen Rui was somewhat spoiled, he still followed the rules and felt a deep affection for him.

The person kneeling in the mourning hall, Shen Jin, a scholar at the age of fourteen, was not unknown in the clan. He had not only attended the burial of Shen Li's mother with Shen Juren but had also visited Shen Li with several other clan brothers who had achieved official status.

Shen Li had no ill feelings towards Shen Jin before, but seeing him occupy the position of the filial son without any sign of remorse, he could not help but feel extreme disgust, pretending not to recognize him.

Upon hearing this, Shen Juren's expression stiffened, and he said awkwardly, "Brother Rui is ill. This is my eldest son, Jin. My old lady, out of concern for Brother Rui's illness, fearing that he would be too weak to handle the ceremony, instructed Jin to take his place."

Hearing this, Shen Li became even more angry.

The position of the filial son was not something to be occupied casually. Even if this young man was Shen Juren's eldest son, it was appropriate for him to mourn his mother, but he should not occupy the position of the filial son. Even if Shen Rui was not present, Shen Jin should have left his position empty to distinguish between the main and secondary branches.

Moreover, by introducing Shen Jin as his eldest son rather than his eldest son from a concubine, Shen Juren blurred the distinction between the main and secondary branches. Was it also a matter of course to register Shen Jin under Sun's name?

If so, for Shen Rui, not only would he become the second son of the main branch, but he would also lose half of Sun's dowry.

The reason Shen Juren dared to do this was that the Shen family was powerful, and Sun was the only daughter of the Sun family, with no brothers or nephews to speak up for her. Sun's dowry was in the hands of the Shen family, and no one was advocating for Shen Rui. Otherwise, the Sun family would accuse the Shen family of "plotting to seize the dowry of the main wife," and the two families would end up in court.

The clan members knew that Sun had only given birth to a son after the age of thirty, which had damaged her health. The old lady of the fourth branch had taken her second son to raise, pampering him excessively, which had made him spoiled and willful. Despite his young age, he was already well-known.

Shen Jin, on the other hand, was not only young and intelligent but also academically accomplished, ranking among the best in the younger generation of the Shen family. The Shen family, being a scholarly family, had a tradition of education, and it was common to have scholars in their teens, but those with Shen Jin's talent were few. The last one was the top scholar, Shen Li.

In addition to his talent, Shen Jin, though a son of a concubine, was not of low birth. His mother, Zheng, was not of low status.

The Zheng family was also a scholarly family, and Shen Jin's maternal grandfather was Shen Juren's early mentor, a scholar. The two families had a long-standing friendship. Due to the vicissitudes of life, Zheng's father died early, leaving a widow and a young brother without support. As a scholar's daughter, Zheng, without a dowry, found it difficult to marry into a family of equal status. To secure a better dowry and take care of her mother and brother, she had to become a concubine. Her brother, however, was ambitious and passed the imperial examination in the same year as Shen Li, becoming an official, though he was ranked third and was now a magistrate in Shanxi.

Although Shen Juren did not "favor the concubine over the wife," his affection for Zheng and his eldest son was well-known. Because Sun was kind, many of the clan's women were friends with her and spoke out against the injustice. However, this was a matter of the fourth branch's household, and Sun was virtuous, treating her concubine kindly and not harshly. Zheng, being gentle, always behaved properly, focusing on educating her son and not causing trouble. Even if others felt unfair, they could not say much.

Now, with Shen Rui absent, Shen Jin occupied the position of the filial son in the mourning hall. Everyone, like Shen Li, guessed that Shen Juren was about to confirm Shen Jin's status as the eldest son of the main branch. After all, in the eyes of the world, the distinction between the main and secondary branches was significant. Whether in marriage or future official careers, the status of the main son offered more advantages. No matter how talented Shen Jin was, being a son of a concubine, he lacked the dignity of the main branch. Some old scholars, who were strict about propriety, would always favor the main branch over the secondary branch, regardless of character or talent.

Although Shen Juren's arrangement was out of "a father's love," it was too callous towards Sun, who had not yet been buried. Even if he wanted to give Shen Jin the status of the main son, it did not have to be so urgent. Everyone knew that, no matter how virtuous Sun had been in life, she was now gone, and the day when Zheng would be elevated to the main wife was not far off.

At that time, as Zheng's son, Shen Jin's transition from a son of a concubine to a son of the main branch would be more reasonable. However, in terms of status, he would still be inferior to Shen Rui, the original main son.

If Shen Rui were the elder and Shen Jin the younger, it could be passed off as the son of a secondary wife being the main son. However, with Shen Jin being five years older than Shen Rui, it would be impossible to hide this when they got married. At that time, the "elevation of a concubine to the main wife" would be another issue. According to the law, it was forbidden to "make a concubine a wife," and while it was often overlooked in practice, it was still illegal.

If someone were to investigate Shen Jin's status, the ambiguity of his main or secondary status would be even more awkward. It would be more complete to register him directly under Sun's name.

By making this arrangement in advance, it was not out of respect for Sun, but for other reasons. Sun's dowry, besides the usual gold, silver, and boxes, included cotton fields, houses, and shops, and most importantly, two large textile factories with a thousand looms. The factories brought in thousands of taels of silver annually, even after paying the workers.

Among the various branches of the Shen family, only the main branch and the fifth branch had more than a thousand looms, but those branches had many descendants and had not yet divided, so the factories had not been split. However, the more than a thousand looms and other properties in the fourth branch were Sun's dowry, which her father had prepared for her before she married into the Shen family. According to the law and common practice, this should be left entirely to Sun's biological son, Shen Rui, and not to the rest of the fourth branch.

In this way, among the clan's younger generation, Shen Rui's assets would be unmatched by any of his clan brothers. Even if he were not talented, he would have a comfortable life with this inheritance.

No one was a fool, and they all saw through Shen Juren's favoritism towards his eldest son from a concubine, which was aimed at Sun's dowry. While they felt some injustice, the clan elder did not speak up, so no one else dared to question it.

"Do not underestimate the poor youth."

Shen Jin was also a descendant of the Shen family. Even if Sun's dowry were divided, it would not benefit others. Shen Jin was a young scholar with a promising future. Compared to Shen Rui, who did not like to study, everyone knew he was the future head of the fourth branch. No one wanted to offend him, so they could only watch as he occupied the position of the filial son, gaining the status of the main son and then Sun's dowry.

In the mourning hall, besides Shen Li, no one spoke up for Sun and Shen Rui.

Shen Li thought of Sun's kindness in life and the many who had benefited from her, especially Shen Juren, whose family had once been in decline due to gambling, but had prospered after he married Sun, acquiring good land and beautiful houses. Now, seeing Shen Juren's behavior, if the clan elder were fair, he should have spoken up. His silence made Shen Li wonder if he had already reached an agreement with Shen Juren.

Shen Li clenched his teeth, his face red with anger, and said, "Even if Brother Rui is seriously ill, he should still appear before the elders on such an important day. Otherwise, how can the elders be at ease? Aunt is all that remains of her family. If anything happens to her, heaven will not tolerate it. If good deeds are not rewarded, who will do good? Many of the clan's younger generation remember Aunt's kindness and cannot bear to see Brother Rui ill. Elders, should we not bring Brother Rui here? If he is really ill, we should invite the best doctors to treat him and not delay his treatment." He then looked at Shen Juren.

Upon hearing this, the old grandfathers and fathers of the various branches, who had been mere spectators, could not help but look at each other, the room falling silent.

Registering the already accomplished Shen Jin under Sun's name and dividing Sun's dowry was one thing; plotting to harm Shen Rui, Sun's biological son, was another. Although everyone thought that "a tiger does not eat its own cubs" and Shen Juren might not be so heartless, the fact that Sun had been dead for seven days and Shen Rui had not appeared, despite the claim that he was ill, without any mention of inviting doctors, now raised suspicions.

Even the clan elder could not sit still, looking at Shen Juren and saying, "How long has Brother Rui been ill? We must not hide his illness. If there is anything wrong, we should seek medical help immediately..."