Shen Zhang returned home with a gloomy face. Before he could catch his breath, Shen Junming stormed into his courtyard in a rage.
"You unfilial son! You're trying to kill me!" Shen Junming pointed at Shen Zhang's face and scolded as soon as he laid eyes on him.
Shen Zhang showed no surprise at Shen Junming's scolding, but he couldn't help asking, "I wonder why Father is scolding me like this. Have I done something wrong?"
"What have you done wrong? Do I even need to tell you?" Shen Junming fixed his sharp eyes on Shen Zhang.
"I don't know. Please enlighten me, Father!" Shen Zhang bowed and saluted Shen Junming with his hands clasped.
Shen Junming put his hands behind his back. Although he was standing right in front of Shen Zhang, his eyes circled around him several times. "You must know who you've offended in the academy."
"Oh, so Father is talking about Qin An!" Shen Zhang pretended to suddenly understand.
"Humph! That Qin An is not worth mentioning. It's the second young master of the Ministry of Personnel's assistant minister standing behind him! You could have offended anyone but him. You just had to stand in his way." Shen Junming looked at Shen Zhang and shook his head helplessly.
"Do you know that the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of assessing all officials? I'll be up for reappointment next year. I was planning to curry favor with Assistant Minister Han to get a promotion and a transfer.
"That young master Han is someone you should be flattering, not offending! Now, you've shattered my hopes. Tell me, how are you going to make up for my loss?"
Shen Zhang looked at Shen Junming, who only reached his shoulder, and said firmly, word by word, "I don't think I did anything wrong! People like them deserve to be beaten and taught a lesson! It was that Qin An who first insulted Zhen'er with rude words! As Zhen'er's elder brother, I naturally couldn't just stand by and watch an outsider bully her like that!"
Just as Shen Zhang was about to say more, Shen Junming impatiently interrupted him. "It was just a trivial matter! And if Shen Zhenzhen hadn't been impolite, why would they single her out and say her behavior was improper? Shen Zhen should also reflect on her words and deeds!"
"Moreover, Shen Zhen is just a concubine's daughter. It's really not worth offending Assistant Minister Han for her sake!" Shen Junming was calculating the pros and cons as if he were doing business.
Hearing this, Shen Zhang looked at him in disbelief. "Father, in your eyes, are we all less important than an official position?"
"Of course not, Zhang'er! Shen Zhen can't be compared with you. You're my son. You'll inherit the family business and help me in the future. Shen Zhen is just a girl. Once she gets married, she'll belong to someone else's family!"
Shen Zhang didn't expect Shen Junming to view him and Shen Zhen like this. He asked reluctantly, "What about Shen Miao? In Father's eyes, what's the difference between Zhen'er and Shen Miao?"
Seeing that Shen Zhang was asking him questions on his own initiative, Shen Junming felt their father - son relationship getting closer. So he told him the truth without deception. "Zhang'er, you've seen it. Miao'er is the legitimate daughter. Her status is more noble. It won't be long before she marries into the Fourth Prince's Mansion. If Miao'er wins the Fourth Prince's favor then, she can also help me a bit."
Shen Junming intended to take this opportunity to teach Shen Zhang something about the officialdom, so he said a bit more. "By then, you and I will be serving in the court together. With Miao'er speaking well of us in front of the Fourth Prince, it will be hard for us not to get promoted."
Shen Junming was so excited that he didn't notice that Shen Zhang's face had turned ugly. He had always thought that Shen Junming, as his and Shen Zhen's father, should at least care about them a bit. But he didn't expect that they were just tools and stepping - stones for Shen Junming's promotion.
"Alright, Zhang'er. You're not a child anymore. You should share my worries. I won't blame you for your past mistakes because you were young. But now that I've told you so much, I'm sure you understand the stakes. Tomorrow, go with me to the Han Mansion to apologize. Then this matter will be over, and they won't pursue it anymore!"
Shen Zhang felt cold in his heart. Shen Junming didn't care about the truth of the matter, nor did he care about Shen Zhen's feelings. He just blindly wanted to curry favor with others for promotion and wealth.
After thinking it through, Shen Zhang stopped dwelling on Shen Junming's attitude and didn't care about some things anymore. "Okay, I'll go with Father tomorrow."
Hearing this, Shen Junming was very satisfied. "Good! Zhang'er, this is how a good son should be."
...
Originally, Shen Junming planned to take Shen Zhang to visit the Han Mansion after he got off work. Shen Zhang asked for leave from the academy today and stayed in the Shen Mansion to review his lessons.
But before Shen Junming got off work, a group of yamen runners broke into the Shen Mansion.
"Where is the suspect Shen Zhang?" The leading yamen runner scanned the crowd but didn't see anyone who looked like Shen Zhang.
"Sir, the person you just mentioned is our second young master of the Shen Mansion. May I ask what's going on that you've come here today?" The steward of the Shen Mansion was a bit scared when he saw these imposing yamen runners, but he still stepped forward to try to get on good terms with them.
"Stop talking nonsense. Don't ask about things you shouldn't. Quick, tell me where he is. Hurry and take us there. We're in a hurry to report back!"
The steward didn't dare to ask any more questions and led the yamen runners to the small courtyard where Shen Zhang lived.
As soon as the yamen runners said they were looking for Shen Zhang, someone had already gone to inform him. At this time, Shen Zhang, having received the news, was already standing in the courtyard waiting.
The yamen runner saw a person in the courtyard. Judging from his age, he guessed it was Shen Zhang. "Are you Shen Zhang?"
"It's me!"
"Good! We now suspect you're involved in a murder case. Please come with us to the yamen!" Although the yamen runner spoke to Shen Zhang politely, he still ordered his men to put handcuffs on Shen Zhang.
So, under the watchful eyes of a group of people, Shen Zhang followed the yamen runners away.
Concubine Su and Shen Zhen were extremely worried. They sent servants to call Shen Junming back while they couldn't rest assured about Shen Zhang and followed them all the way to the Capital Yamen.
At this time, there were already several circles of people surrounding the Capital Yamen in the capital. Shen Zhang was taken to the main hall and knelt down directly.
"Who is the person kneeling in front?" Magistrate Liang of the Capital Yamen slapped the gavel and asked Shen Zhang below.