Huai Sheng opened the door and once one entered the doors, there was a strong alcohol scent that waved over. Even though Shen Miao had a mask on, she could not help but frown. Seeing Shen Miao frown, Huai Sheng seemed to blush with shame. He ran to the other side to take a oil lamp and lit it up.
The flame was ignited and swayed around, making everything in the room slightly lightened up. One then saw that there was a middle-aged man lying on the bed. This male was very thin and his complexion was of a glazed yellow in colour as he snored in his sleep.
Huai Sheng looked at the two persons in front uneasily. The female said, "Wake him up."
Huai Sheng nodded his head and walked over to the man's side and gently shook the man's arms as he said softly, "Father. Father. Someone has come."
Initially there was no response from that man at first. Afterwards he seemed to be annoyed by Huai Sheng's shaking and unconsciously slap before yelling, "Its in the middle of the night. What are you crying about?"
On instincts, Huai Sheng closed his eyes but the slap did not came down. He carefully opened his eyes and saw his Father's fearful gaze and followed the direction. That beautiful male who had been looking on coldly and indifferently had don't know when reached in front of him and the slender long hand was holding on to the man's throat.
"Immortal, immortal…" Huai Sheng got anxious. He was scared and worried but at the end he still resisted his fear and said, "My Father did not deliberately offend you. I beg of you to spare his life."
Shen Miao swept a glance that that male who was so scared that there was no more traces of sleepiness before quietly saying, "Let go of him."
Xie Jing Xing only then released his hand.
Huang Shen was somewhat afraid.
His father knelt on the floor and as he stared at the two persons in front, his body trembled uncontrollably, most probably felt that the dangerous air that the other person head, especially the seeming beautiful male.
Shen Miao said, "You are Tian Li?"
Tian Li nodded his head, "This lowly one is."
Shen Miao swept a look at Tian Li. From the rumours, at the beginning in Liu Province, Tian Li was also a handsome and suave scholar. He was talented and thus was able to win Cang Zai Qing's heart and marry her. It was only afterwards when he had failed in repeated examinations that gradually self-deprecation grew and he started to drink and gamble. Cang Zai Qing hated this kind of lifestyle thus she ran away. Seeing Tian Li's current appearance, she could slightly understand why Cang Zai Qing left. There was not a little grace that Tian Li once had and the man in front was obviously a disappointment and in dire straits.
"Is Cang Zai Qing your wife?" Shen Miao asked.
Hearing that, Tian Li's entire body trembled as he raised his head to look at Shen Miao. Even though he had tried his best to cover up, Shen Miao could see the anger and humiliation in his eyes.
"Don't worry, I am not Cang Zai Qing's friend. It is alright to speak your mind." Shen Miao said.
Tian Li looked at Shen Miao seriously and seemingly trying to confirm if what Shen Miao said was true or not. Shen Miao looked at him openly and broad levelled. After half a moment Tian Li spit and said, "That slut of a wife ran away with my money. Shameless!"
Huai Sheng shuddered for a moment and his gaze was somewhat laden with grief.
Shen Miao's gaze fell onto Huai Sheng and she said, "Huai Sheng, go to the courtyard. I have some things to say with your Father."
Huai Sheng looked at Shen Miao and then looked at Tian Li but he did not say anything before he quietly walked out with the blanket.
After Huai Shen left, Shen Miao then let Tian Li elaborate of the ins and outs.
It was similar to what was found out by the people that Shen Miao sent. Cang Zai Qing's husband was Tian Li. In the beginning when Tian Li and Cang Zai Qing gotten married, it was an anecdote that spread far and wide. Cang Zai Qing was a talented female in Liu Province and Tian Li was also a talented scholar. Tian Li's family also had several shophouses. Even though it was not considered as a wealthy family, they can be considered as a slightly rich family.
It was just that later on that others picked a fight with the Tian family business and the shophouses were mortgaged. The husband and wife of the Tian family was unable to withstand the blow and passed on and thus Tian Li was affected by it and failed to pass the examinations that year and subsequently every year was worse than the previous. At that time Cang Zai Qing was already pregnant and gave birth to Huai Sheng, thus there were more areas that required money. As the saying went, poverty couches a marriage, both of them kept on quarrelling. Tian Li fell in love with alcohol and gambling and Cang Zai Qing despise these kind of days as it was not how she wanted to live. Thus on one fine day, she sold the last remaining land deed and took the money to run away.
Tian Li and also send people to search but was unable to find Cang Zai Qing's whereabouts. It was likely that Tian Li did not know that Cang Hu and Old Shen General had some relations thus he did not know that Cang Zai Qing came to Ding capital.
When Tian Li was speaking of Cang Zai Qing, he was still clenching his teeth, "That poisonous woman took the land deed that was suppose to be be left for Huai Sheng to marry when he grows up. She actually took that and sold it. She doesn't even have Huai Sheng in her heart. She is a slut."
Shen Miao sighed as Xie Jing Xing folded his arms and stood at the other side, looking outside the window, as if he was not interested in Tian Li's words in the room. However even if he just casually stood there, no one could ignore teh chilling atmosphere.
At the end Tian Li asked, "Someone brought both of us here and said that we can see that woman. Young Lady, is there people that brought us over to Ding capital you?" Tian Li could see that the two person had an unusual identity, especially that male. How would normal people able help to have the guts to budge into a commoner's residence in the middle of the night? Such an arrogance like this was not what a normal person had.
"It is me." Shen Miao said, "I know where is Cang Zai Qing at."
Tian Li was stunned and when he spoke again, his voice shook as he asked, "Where is she?"
Shen Miao frowned slightly. In Tian Li's voice, other than anger, there was a trace of longing. Perhaps it was because he had been husband and wife with Cang Zai Qing for a number of years or perhaps because Cang Zai Qing was at the end Huai Sheng's mother. One feared that this Tian Li was not as good as he said and was softhearted towards Cang Zai Qing.
This was not what Shen Miao wanted to see.
She said, "Cang Zai Qing is currently in the former Shen residence of the Formidable Great General and had became the concubine of the Shen residence's Third Master, Shen Wan. Currently she is pregnant and Shen Wan treats her very well. She have all of Shen Wan's favour and one thinks that soon she would be able to give birth to Shen Wan's Di son. There are no other Di heirs in Shen Wan's residence, thus once the child is born, perhaps Cang Zai Qing would be raised to the official position. Even if she was not raised, that child would be brought up with brocade and jaded food for the entire life."
Tian Li's expression changed. First it was being angry due to the green hat he was wearing (aka being cuckold) then it was humiliation and it became complicated. That little trace of softening of his heart disappeared after hearing Shen Miao's remarks.
The child that Cang Zai Qing gave birth to could be brought up with brocade and jaded for for the entire life but in retrospect, Huai Shen in the future would not have anything since the land deed for him to marry a wife was also sold. Many years later, the two children who both crawled out of Cang Zai Qing's stomach would be so far apart like dirt and clouds. One most afraid of comparison thus Tian Li's heart was unreconcilable.
Shen Miao smiled gently, "Not only that, Third Shen Master even divorce his wife for Cang Zai Qing and went to court with his wife. One think that he truly love Cang Zai Qing. Now the formal Third Shen Furen become a street rate that would be scolded by everyone. She is rather pitiful."
Tian Li sneered, "This Third Shen Master is also a one without a brain." Towards Shen Wan, Tian Qing had no good feeling for him as he hated that his wife was shared with others and moreover as a poor person, one would always be hostile to the rich. Especially so since Cang Zai Qing would often expressed her direction to head towards the wealthy, Tian Li was very resentful of Shen Wan.
"To be honest with each other, Third Shen Furen entrusted this to me." Shen Miao said, "Third Shen Furen was currently forced by Third Shen Master till there is no way out and currently had no way out. Third Shen Furen planned to make it either the fish dies or the net splits and to make Third Shen Master and Cang Zai Qing not live well, thus she found you.
"I…" Tian Li looked at Shen Miao and gradually realised what she was going towards and said, "Your noble one meant?"
"At the most appropriate timing, clarify to Third Shen Master that Cang Zai Qing is your wife. Let Third Shen Master stop this mistake as early as possible."
Tian Li said, "I…"
Shen Miao did not give Tian Li time to hesitate and said, "Could it be that you are willing to watch your own wife growing old with others? Your feeling for her has not end and want to give her a route to live? She however did not even consider you for one little bit. If she still had a conscience in her heart, don't mention yourself, she would be reluctant to part with Huai Sheng. But in actual fact, she even left with the last land deed that was for Huai Sheng's future. Cang Zai Qing's heart only had herself and had never put you both father and son in it. To even requite evil with good, Tian Li, could it be that your Tian family are all disciples of Buddha and all do not discriminate right and wrong?"
These remarks was really impolite that even Xie Jing Xing who was listening at the side also lifted his lips and looked at Shen Miao meaningfully. Tian Li's face turned red upon listening but he did not dare to refute Shen Miao's words.
"The most important thing is that on what basis does Huai Sheng have to live through such hardships while Cang Zai Qing's and Shen Wan's son could live freely? If there was one day that Huai Sheng encounter this younger brother of a different father with a same mother, the younger brother would be a person above others whereas Huai Sheng could only serve him like a subordinate. Cang Zai Qing would only acknowledge the younger brother and not acknowledge him, so how would Huai Shen think? Tian Li, just think carefully if you are truly reconcilable?"
Shen Miao's words always had a faint enchantment that would make others unconsciously follow her words to think, moreover what she said was obviously what Tian Li most concerned of. No matter how bad Tian Li was, even he treated Huai Sheng crudely, he had more conscience than Cang Zai Qing, otherwise even though he was a gambler, he still kept the last land deed for Huai Sheng to marry a wife.
Tian Li said, "Noble person. I understood. I am unreconcilable but she is after all Huai Sheng's mother. I only want her to come back and if she was beaten to death by others, Huai Sheng would be upset."
"Just don't let Huai Sheng know of the matter." Shen Miao said, "After the matter is successful, Third Shen Furen would give you father and son a large sum of money. This amount would be much more than the value of the land deed you had before. With this sum of money, both of you can go as far as you can, to a place where no one know of you and start anew. In this world, there are two things that cannot be detained, one is water that was splashed and the other is people who leave. Cang Zai Qing took the initiative to walk out of your lives and now living in brocade and jaded food so how would you be able to get her back? With your sincere heart or the mother and son care for Huai Sheng? Do you think it was possible?”
Tian Li closed his eyes in pain.
Shen Miao said correctly. Cang Zai Qing was living so well and one could not think of any reason to go back to the previous lifestyle. If she really thought of him and Huai Sheng, she would not have sold the land deed and run away.
The female wearing a mask stood in front and said calmly, "One looked out for oneself, else Heavens and earth would destroy you. It was her who was heartless first so why do you still speak of righteousness? Now that there is an opportunity for you to change your life. If you miss one, there would not be a second time No matter if it is to step on Cang Zai Qing's life to walk foward, you are not wrong. Because this is what Cang Zai Qing owe to both father and son. Do you do it or not?"