Rebirth of Poisoned Empress, by 颜若优雅

Chapter 13

Dull blue, dark black, bright yellow, verdant green, blood red... The fabrics that were left were those that had an ostentatious, vibrant color. No matter how he looked, that was all that remained. Shen Liang was only fifteen. He would find it hard to look good in any of these colors. If the attires were made in the slightest sense, gaudy, Shen Liang wouldn't be able to go out in public.

This was the fabric they wanted him to choose from. The fabrics were good materials anyway. If he looked like a fool in his new attires, they could still push the blame on him, saying that he was the one who chose the fabrics himself.  

They sure had calculated this out well. Not only could they win back their reputation through spoiling the heir, but also would succeed in suppressing him a notch. Shen Liang couldn't but sneer, but his expression maintained its indifference.

Seeing that he hadn't chosen anything even after a long time, those present looked on with a schadenfreude amusement. As long as it was someone from the main house, those from the second and third family wouldn't like them. It wasn't that they couldn't tell Shen Liang was different, but so what? It would be for the best if Shen Liang was able to see past Liu Shuhan's intentions and directly confront her. The more chaotic the main house became, the happier they would be. 

As for Liu Shuhan, the mother-daughter pair, this was their ruse. How could they not take pleasure in deriving Shen Liang's misfortune?

"Then red. In the past, didn't the priest hired by mother say I was a calamity? Perhaps the red can suppress the misfortune within me. Who knows if I'll end up implicating someone in the future?"

Shen Liang picked up the red fabric and spoke of his constellations nonchalantly and with an underlying message.

The faces of those present in the courtyard couldn't help but contort. Although they all knew the matter with the constellations was nothing more than a fate Liu Shuhan pinned on Shen Liang, but what if, just what if, it was real? They couldn't shake off the feeling of sitting on needles, especially Liu Shuhan and the old madame. What had happened that year couldn't have been pulled off so perfectly had Liu Shuhan been the only person who played a role in it.  

"Listen to this child. Do you mean to make your mother guilty? If it wasn't because the Marquis had been childless for years and the old madame was concerned, why would the master of the White Cloud Temple be called?"

Forced to endure her displeasure, Liu Shuhan instead smiled gently.

"Has mother misunderstood something?"

Shen Liang handed the cloth to Qi Yue before turning around and finding a chair to seat himself in, "I didn't accuse anyone of anything, and was simply resigning myself to my fate. Isn't mother thinking too much? Those who didn't know any better would think I was being unfilial towards mother."

The scourge of the stars was a fate they had pinned on his head, but they also didn't want others to know that they believed such witchcraft. They sure were greedy. How was it possible that Shen Liang would allow them both desires?

"This...."

Shen Liang had already accepted his fate. What else could she say?

Liu Shuhan suddenly realized that she had been rendered speechless by Shen Liang. If he continued, she was afraid her alluding him being unfilial would become another rumor passed around in the Imperial City. With the already present rumors outside and inside the manor, if that were to happen, her reputation would be ruined. 

"Enough. Speak less yourself. Xiao Wu is already home. Why bother mentioning the past again?"

The old madame gave Liu Shuhan a glance before calling out to Shen Liang amicably, "Xiao Wu, now that your eldest brother is a third-tier general, he's only one rank below your father. Don't do anything that would shame him. You shall start attending Tianmen Academy with Yang'er and the rest sometime soon."