Tianliangyuan

Chapter 25: Who Will Seek Justice?

The old lady sighed: "This matter is not difficult, but we have to hold back what you just said for now. This is your trump card, and we can't use it unless absolutely necessary. The Jiang family has a Consort Jiang in the palace, who is said to be very favored. If she whispers in the Emperor's ear, it will be enough to make our two families suffer."

Xu Lin, however, didn't take it to heart: "She's just a concubine. My brother's achievements were earned with blood and scars, yet they're not worth a single word from her?"

The old lady, however, was not so optimistic.

The current emperor is a wise ruler who has always valued both civil and military affairs. Even though military generals have a slightly weaker voice in the court, the emperor has always bestowed great rewards upon them.

It is precisely because of this that the military generals of the Daxing Dynasty do not feel that they are inferior.

But even the most enlightened rulers will grow old.

Now that His Majesty's princes are growing up one by one, Consort Jiang has not yet given birth to a prince, but she has a prince she has her eye on. If he were to be raised under her name in the future, the political situation would surely undergo a change.

"We can't be too assertive, but we can't be too subservient either. It's a fact that Qian'er was injured at the Jiang family's house, and the Jiang family can't deny that!"

"Mother, what do you mean?"

"Since Qian'er's face is already injured, why not find a way to get the Jiang family to arrange a good marriage for her? Then you won't have to worry about Qian'er anymore."

These words put Xu Lin in a difficult position.

What makes a good marriage?

If Sun Qian were to marry into a high-ranking family, her appearance would be damaged, and she would certainly be unable to attend certain palace banquets in the future. Therefore, she could only marry some idle people in the high-ranking family.

They may not have a bright future, but they should be able to live a life free from worries about food and clothing.

Even so, if a woman is no longer beautiful, she will likely have no status in her husband's family.

“Mother, there’s no rush for this marriage. My husband and I have discussed it and we’re going to treat her slowly first. Maybe the scar will fade in the future, and then we can put on makeup and it won’t be noticeable.”

The old lady remained silent, believing that Sun Qian's face was unlikely to recover.

Even if she recovers, there will definitely be some traces, and no respectable family would ever marry her as their principal wife.

After all, the legal wife is required to attend some important occasions.

However, if a woman with several scars on her face were to appear in public, it would always attract questions and gossip, which is not a good thing.

"Let's see. What do you and your son-in-law think? How do you want the Jiang family to compensate you?"

Xu Lin looked slightly embarrassed and said cautiously, "My husband means that he wants the Jiang family to help Huaizhi more in the future."

The old lady frowned. Sun Huaizhi was going to take the provincial examination this year. Judging from her words, she was clearly thinking of taking a shortcut, hoping that Huaizhi would pass the provincial examination without any problem, and then take the metropolitan examination next year or a few years later.

"This is inappropriate!"

Xu Lin panicked: "Mother?"

"When the imperial court selects officials, it still depends on their ability and knowledge. If Huaizhi himself is not knowledgeable enough, what good is it if he gets the title of Juren? In the future metropolitan examination, do you still need the Jiang family to help him? On the contrary, if Huaizhi is capable and can pass the Juren without anyone's help, then it would be more reasonable for you to ask the Jiang family to help you in the metropolitan examination."

In other words, good steel should be used where it's most needed.

He was just a mere scholar; if Sun Huaizhi couldn't pass the imperial examination, it was because he hadn't studied enough.

However, if the Jiang family were to exert their influence during the provincial examination, Sun Huaizhi's future would be promising.

So, the effect of using this favor can be significantly different depending on where you choose to use it.

"But it is still unknown whether Huaizhi will pass the provincial examination this year. If it is the metropolitan examination in the future, the Jiang family will probably have forgotten about it."

"With Qian'er's face still around, would the Jiang family dare to forget her?"

Xu Lin choked, realizing that it made sense.

The mother and daughter discussed for a long time, seemingly seeking justice for Sun Qian, but in reality, neither of them mentioned fighting for anything for Sun Qian.

After Xu Han returned, they had lunch together, and he brought up Sun Qian's matter.

Xu Lin was somewhat flattered, after all, she knew that her brother didn't like her and Qian'er, so now that she had the chance, she naturally had to play the victim.

“Qian’er’s face does need treatment. I’ve heard of a famous doctor before, but he likes to travel around, and I don’t know when we’ll be able to find him. Let the imperial physician take a look for now. I will inform you as soon as I have any news.”

"Thank you, brother."

Although Xu Han didn't like them, it was still his niece who was injured, so how could he really ignore it?

“Brother, the Jiang family only sent a servant to deliver an apology gift. That’s too disrespectful to us. Qian’er is injured now, and the Sun family doesn’t have anyone to help. We still need you to stand up for Qian’er!”

As Xu Lin spoke, tears streamed down her face. The thought that her daughter's future might be ruined broke her heart.

Xu Lin is so shrewd!

She had some trump cards up her sleeve, but the Sun family's resources were too meager; they couldn't withstand the Jiang family's attacks and would collapse in no time.

Therefore, she needs to save this trump card for the most crucial moment.

As for now, Sun Qian could have her elder brother stand up for her and demand an explanation from the Jiang family and the Duke of Su's mansion. That way, perhaps the matter of her son and daughter could be resolved.

Unfortunately, Xu Lin's plan was quite good, but Xu Han was completely uncooperative.

"You are the aggrieved party in this matter. No matter where you go, you are in the right. How can you speak so pitifully? Moreover, I heard that the Jiang family and the Duke of Su's mansion each prepared a gift of apology to send over."

I know this apology isn't much, but it at least shows their attitude. If you feel that an apology alone isn't enough, then you and your brother-in-law should think carefully about how to resolve this matter.”

Wang Ruolan didn't say anything, even though she already knew that her husband didn't want to get involved in the Sun family's affairs, but she still had to say the polite words.

Xu Han took a sip of tea and said, "The matter has escalated to such a great extent that whether or not it goes through the authorities is of little significance. After all, this matter has reached the ears of the emperor. To put it bluntly, the only option now is to settle it privately. What good would it do to go to the authorities anyway?"

No matter what, the dog that hurt people was vicious. At most, the owner will be punished for negligence. What else can you do?

Who can prove that all of this was done intentionally by the Jiang family?

Who can prove that Liu Huaien deliberately released this vicious dog?

Having nothing to offer, going through the authorities would only make us disliked, so it's better to settle privately and perhaps even gain some benefits.

This may sound harsh, but it's the truth.

Xu Lin never expected her brother to say such a thing. She knew that what her brother said was true, but that was not what she wanted to hear!

“Brother, I understand. That’s why we also wanted to settle things privately, but the Jiang family and the Duke of Su’s mansion look down on our Sun family. Although we invited the imperial physician and sent gifts to apologize, neither of the two families’ masters showed up. They just sent a steward to get rid of us. This is too much of a bully!”