LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 26
Shen Youlin dragged his feet, using all kinds of excuses and reasons to avoid going back to the Capital until the Eve of Chinese New Year. When Old Madam Shen heard about this, she sent a group of bodyguards dressed like gangsters, who stuffed Shen Youlin and his dog onto a private jet.
Shen Youlin was teasing Dou'e's ears, reminiscing about the scene just now when the bodyguards had just gotten off the plane, shouting in unison, "Please, come back to the Capital, Young Master Shen the Seventh!" He felt that he had acted quite arrogantly for a moment.
Unfortunately, there was no one else to witness it, no chance to slap the faces of arrogant lesser folk, and no beauty for him to rescue either.
At Chang Garden, there were only two old nannies and the Yu brothers. Seeing this scene, they laughed so hard they couldn't stand up straight. They yelled that Old Madam Shen was really stylish.
Shen Youlin knew very clearly that the private jet and bodyguards were sent by Old Madam Shen. The chuunibyou arrogant lines must have been arranged by his unconventional mom.
When the plane landed outside the old Shen family manor, it was lunch time. Dou'e was led away by the servants to go open the small stove. The silly dog could be led away by anyone. With a few calls, he would happily trot after people, tongue lolling.
It really lived up to the English name Shen Youlin gave it: Silly Bragi.
Today was the Eve of the New Year and everyone was present, even Shen Youfei from the Taoist Temple had come back. According to their seniority and ages, they were sitting around the banquet hall table that could seat thirty people, all waiting for Shen Youlin to come and start the meal. It really made him look awful.
But no one dared to say anything to him. He was the grandson that Old Madam cherished most, no one dared to put on airs and lecture him.
Shen Youfei didn't even look at him. She kept her eyes lowered, even her back emanating a feeling of indifference and lack of interest in the mundane world.
Shen Youlin especially hated how her Taoist robes obstructed his view. He deliberately went up to pick a fight and imitated her voice badly as he bowed, "Master Shen, good fortune~"
Shen Youfei was not angry. She slowly got up and bowed back to him.
Shen Youlin stared at her fixedly, trying to discern even a hint of expression or ripple across her face.
"Alright, stop provoking your big sister. It's rare enough she comes back home." Old Madam Shen, sitting at the head seat, waved her hand at him. "Come over here and sit."
Shen Youlin hopped over a few uncles and sat down on Old Madam Shen's right side. His parents sat on his left side, in order of seniority.
Even though it was New Year, Old Madam Shen was dressed low-key as usual in a dark blue patterned Tang suit. But the pair of mid-green emperor jadeite bangles on her wrists were anything but low-key. Around her neck, she wore a necklace of jadeite beads, all exorbitantly priced treasures.
They were probably only worth a few small fortunes.
Old Madam Shen was also an exceptional woman. In her youth, she had fled to a village on the outskirts of the Capital during a famine. She was married to Old Master Shen with three corn cob nests. She had gnawed on roots and eaten bark, and together with the Old Master, built up a huge family business. Even when she was extremely busy, she never neglected bearing children - six sons and two daughters, raising them all without losing a single one prematurely.
After Old Master Shen became wealthy, he no longer appreciated his wife who had shared hardship with him. He took in one mistress after another endlessly outside. Old Madam Shen neither cried nor made trouble over it. On one hand, she drove away all the mistresses and illegitimate children. On the other hand, she curried favor with the Shen Corporation higher-ups to hold power and curb Old Master Shen's authority.
Old Master Shen was so angry he had a stroke and was paralyzed, surviving for a full twelve years before passing away. Naturally he left no will, and those outside mistresses and illegitimate children didn't get a single cent.
After Old Master Shen's death, Old Madam Shen split his stocks and assets evenly among their children, according to their number. She retired to the second line, handing power to her eldest son Shen Chaowen.
After that, Old Madam Shen started enjoying her remaining years, pampering her grandchildren at home. Now that she was older, she had no other hobbies. Other than jade, she loved her grandsons the most.
In Shen Youlin's father's generation, aside from his dad, none of them had any capable skills. They had all been muddled by wine, beauty, wealth and power. Even if they had no other skills, they still had the ability to sire children, no? Seeing how Old Madam favored her grandsons, they desperately tried their best to give birth to more. Just counting Shen Youlin's generation - the cousins on his uncles' side, cousins on his aunts' side - added up to twenty-three!
Shen Youlin behaved himself a lot more in front of Old Madam. He didn't nitpick and didn't tear down anyone else's dignity. The big family had a harmonious reunion meal.
After Old Madam went upstairs to take an afternoon nap, the married daughters took their children to their husband's families. Shen Youlin started sitting with his legs crossed arrogantly, deliberately provoking and poking at everyone's sore spots with his words.
"Third uncle, I heard your branch company lost nearly a billion last year? Grandma doesn't know yet - oh dear heavens, that would have been enough to buy so many strands of Premium Imperial Jadeite..."
A few years ago, Shen Third Uncle had finally coaxed Old Madam into giving him a branch company. If Old Madam knew he had lost so much money, she would definitely take the company back from him.
"In my opinion, it would have been better if you had spent and gambled away all the money, at least you'd still hear a plop when you tossed it all into the river. Spending everything away, you can still find some happiness in that."
"Third Brother, is your mistress pregnant for five months or seven months now? I hear different things every time."
Old Madam cherished her grandsons, but extremely detested illegitimate children. She didn't acknowledge any of the children born to her sons by their mistresses outside, not to mention allowing them into her presence. If she knew which grandson had sired an illegitimate child outside, she would whip them flayed with a horse whip.
A few years ago, when Fourth Uncle's kept mistress birthed twins outside, he thought he had backing at last. He carefully orchestrated a "chance meeting", bringing the dragon and phoenix twins to greet Old Madam as their grandmother in hopes she would accept them. Old Madam had people chase the mother and children out of the Capital. Fourth Uncle was confined in the family manor for two years before she let him out again.
"Oh heavens, now I get it. You have two mistresses, one's pregnant for five months and the other for seven months, right?"
"Don't look at me like that, this is such great news! Flourishing descendants, flourishing descendants~"
"Oh, isn't this my sister Shen Yingshuang? I just saw you a few days ago too."
"Oh, my mistake, that wasn't you I saw the other day. My buddy sent me a little video. The female lead looks so much like you, with the same tattoo and everything. Let me send it to you to see, yeah?"
Since I don't have you on my contacts list, why don't I just post it on the family group?"
"Don't you dare!" Shen Yingshuang was so angry she broke a nail.
"Of course I dare~" Shen Youlin grinned as he tapped send. "Sent!"
Shen Yingshuang and her parents and brothers were all so angry they almost keeled over. Shaking, they hastily took out their phones. Second Aunt and Second Uncle even almost knelt to beg him to recall the video before Old Madam saw it.
"Why recall it? Sister Shen Yingshuang is having so much fun! Granny will think it's hilarious too if she watches it."
The video Shen Youlin sent to their huge family group chat was a Christmas party. Shen Yingshuang was eating, drinking and dancing with some friends, with no inappropriate behavior at all.
After a long while, Second Aunt and Second Uncle finally regained their wits. They covered their faces and cried nonstop.
Shen Yingshuang had studied abroad with the family's support to gain some polish, but the only thing she successfully learned was Western "sexual openness". She lingered around all kinds of parties and pleasure scenes. Somehow, one multi-person gathering she took part in was secretly filmed in its entirety and the video was disseminated back in China. It became the top headline on every major illegal website.
Thanks to the extremely recognizable spider tattoo on her chest, Shen Yingshuang had great name recognition after her first bout.
Fortunately, Old Madam Shen demanded her descendants keep a low profile. Aside from her four sons and her eldest grandson who was groomed to be successor, the others had never revealed their faces in public.
Netizens didn't know the female lead ShenYingshuangAVI in the leaked video was a young miss of the Shen family, otherwise their stocks would have plummeted at least a few billion.
Second Aunt and Second Uncle spent huge effort covering it up to prevent the news from reaching Old Madam.
But Shen Yingshuang's reputation was thoroughly ruined. She would never have the chance to marry into another prominent family in the future. Her only choice was to marry a steady man in a humble status.
Shen Youlin teased and provoked everyone present one by one. Even his five-year-old nephew didn't get spared. He mocked the Shen family for having no musical aptitude at all. It would be better for them to lay padded mats on those hundred-thousand dollar pianos to use as beds rather than producing ear-piercing shrieks everyday that even the crows didn't dare nest at the Shen residence anymore. Angrily, his little nephew whacked him a bunch of times with a toy hammer.
"Oh heavens! There's something off with this Yuan blue-white porcelain vase! Good gracious me, it's a fake! Is our family going bankrupt now? Why display a fake antique? This Ruzhou celadon is questionable too. Not even a high-quality replica."
Zhao Wenqian's face went pale with anger. She came from an ordinary working family and had no knowledge of antique appraisal whatsoever. By overtly criticizing the antiques, Shen Youlin was actually covertly mocking her lowly background.
Zhao Wenqian angrily got up to walk upstairs, accidentally twisting her ankle and crashing into the vase at the corner. A clear shattering echoed throughout the great hall.
Shen Youlin clapped his hands: "Tang Dynasty antique, my dad bought it back from Hong Kong last year. Not expensive, not expensive, ninety million, not as expensive as the Song Dynasty one you broke last time."
Zhao Wenqian stood in place at a loss, Shen Youlin looked at her, then looked at the yuan qinghua in his hand, and suddenly realized: "Oh, no wonder, it's fine to put a replica, it's fine to put a replica—"
Zhao Wenqian cried with tears running down her face pitifully, and Shen Yuxiao hurried to catch up with her.
Yu Fanxing was originally hiding quietly in the bedroom. When she heard that her young son was going all out to berate people, she brought a can of walnuts downstairs and sat in the corner watching the show, crunching on walnuts.
Shen Youlin glanced at her: "Oh my, isn't this my dear mother? It's been a while since I've seen you, you're visibly older. Your new beauty salon doesn't seem too good, I can see your crow's feet from far away."
Yu Fanxing: !!!!
She couldn't eat these walnuts anymore, she couldn't keep this son either.