Chapter 14 It’s okay to have as many as you want. Don’t overthink it, I’m not afraid of any impact…

Before meeting Patriarch Zu, Meng Huan thought he must be a fierce-looking old man with a sturdy build. But upon meeting him, he discovered he was an elderly man with kind eyes and a particularly bright gaze.

Indeed, this is what they call not judging a book by its cover.

Wen Zhaoyin’s father, aka Patriarch Zu, had two daughters with her late mother.

The eldest legitimate daughter, Wen Zhaohui, was born with intellectual disability and had always been like a six-year-old child. After being diagnosed, she was raised at the Wen family’s estate. It was over a decade later that Patriarch Zu had Wen Zhaoyin.

He had invested too much in this clever youngest legitimate daughter, to the point that even now, he would inquire about Wen Zhaoyin’s life every few days, with a strong desire to control.

This was what Meng Huan analyzed from what he heard Wen Xi say on the way here.

He felt that for such an elderly father, being tough definitely wouldn’t work. It’s better to be obedient if possible, to make the other party feel unthreatened.

Patriarch Zu lived in a small courtyard towards the back of the Wen residence. It took Meng Huan quite some time to walk there from Qingzhu Courtyard.

He entered the room. After seeing Patriarch Zu, he performed the proper greetings, then didn’t rush to find a seat and stood in place with his head bowed, quietly waiting.

The elderly man on the seat nodded. One couldn’t tell if he was pleased or angry from his expression. He raised his hand and said, “Quite well-mannered. Have a seat.”

Meng Huan sat down on his left upon hearing this. He had nothing to say to this old man. Knowing he was definitely summoned for a reason, he just waited.

Sure enough, seeing him not speaking, Patriarch Zu took the initiative, “I haven’t seen you since you entered the residence until now. This is the first time meeting you, so I understand why Zhaoyin likes you so much.”

He had heard before that Meng Huan resembled the deceased son-in-law. He originally thought there was just some resemblance, not expecting such striking similarity. If not looking at the eyes, it was as if the person himself was there.

“Why does the madam like me?” Meng Huan was a bit curious. For a woman like Wen Zhaoyin who was dedicated to her career, bringing him back to the residence couldn’t possibly be just because they slept together once. She must have other reasons.

Patriarch Zu fiddled with the prayer beads in his hand. After a moment of being lost in thought, he broke into a smile, “Silly child, because you’re handsome of course!”

She likes him because he’s good-looking? Meng Huan thought about it a little and felt it seemed to be the case. After all, everyone appreciates beauty. Sometimes when he looks in the mirror, he’s also stunned by his own handsomeness.

Seeing him not thinking much of it, Patriarch Zu continued, “Actually, there’s nothing major today. I just wanted to meet you. Zhaoyin only has you in her chambers now. You must bear the responsibility of carrying on the Wen family lineage.”

Meng Huan paused while lifting his teacup, thinking why female-dominant society still places such emphasis on continuing the family line.

Seeing him not responding, Patriarch Zu frowned, “The other branches of our Wen family are all flourishing. Only Zhaoyin’s line is dwindling. She buries herself in official documents all day and doesn’t think about these things. You need to be more proactive.”

“Sigh, it’s also Zhaoyin’s fault for not even giving you a proper title. You must harbor some resentment. How about this – if you can add a daughter to the Wen family, I will personally make you a concubine!”

A young man of lowly status from a small merchant family originally had no standing to speak of. Patriarch Zu felt that promising to make Meng Huan a concubine was already elevating him greatly.

However, after hearing this, Meng Huan had no reaction, because he really didn’t know how important being a concubine was to ‘him’. Only after being repeatedly nudged by Wen Xi beside him did he stand up to express gratitude.

Instantly, his rather obedient image in Patriarch Zu’s eyes took a nosedive.

At this moment, a voice came from outside, “Father!”

The servant at the door bowed to Wen Zhaoyin who walked in from outside. But she walked straight to the hall as if not seeing them, observing the reactions of her father and Meng Huan.

She came in a hurry, not even changing out of her court attire. Patriarch Zu could guess with his toes who she came for and instantly felt even more displeased.

The more displeased he was, the deeper his smile became. “Zhaoyin, why are you standing there foolishly? Come sit and rest.”

Wen Zhaoyin examined his and Meng Huan’s states. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary between the two, she felt quite relieved and casually found a seat to sit down.

Patriarch Zu raised his hand to have someone pour tea and said, “Rest assured, your father didn’t say anything, just urged him to work hard to carry on our family line.”

The emphasis in his words: didn’t say anything.

She understood and nodded, “Your daughter is already working hard and won’t let you down.”

The rest of the conversation was dominated by Patriarch Zu. He unhurriedly turned the prayer beads in his hand, asking about big and small matters in Wen Zhaoyin’s recent days, both household and official, inquiring about everything.

At the end, around lunchtime, he finally waved his hand, “I know you youngsters don’t like dining with us old folks. It’s a good time to head back now. I’m about to have my meal.”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t bother with polite words. She gestured for Meng Huan to leave with her. She knew very well that if she showed the slightest intention of wanting to stay, her father would nag her until evening.

Meng Huan walked side by side with her on the path. Bright sunlight shone overhead, willow trees shaded the courtyard walls. A gentle breeze blew by, soft as gauze brushing the face.

Honestly, this feeling was quite nice.

“Thank you for coming to find me right after the court session.” He thought Wen Zhaoyin must have been in such a hurry because she was afraid Patriarch Zu would make things difficult for him.

She turned to look at him, her expression a bit subtle, “No worries. I promised yesterday to personally take you out for a walk. I can’t keep breaking my word.”

Behind them, Pei Lan and Wen Xi very tactfully distanced themselves. Meng Huan raised his hand and very naturally interlaced his fingers with Wen Zhaoyin’s.

As they walked, he said, “Patriarch Zu brought up the matter of your family’s lineage to me today. He must pester you about it often usually too, right?”

“I feel that between career and family, career is still more important to you. If you feel pressured and don’t want children, we can take some measures to avoid…”

Many women delay their careers because of having children. Meng Huan felt that for her to already be a third-rank official at such a young age, she must want to climb even higher. Although women in female-dominant society have more strength, having children should still impact the body.

With him being so considerate of her, even if Wen Zhaoyin had a heart of stone, he would melt it sooner or later.

“Career?” She tilted her head to ask.

“Ahem, meaning your official prospects, your future as an official.”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t understand what connection there could be between official prospects and having children, but could tell Meng Huan was thinking for her sake. She couldn’t help but sigh that he had changed so quickly these past few days.

Becoming more and more endearing.

She stopped and held his hand, saying earnestly, “Don’t overthink it. I’m not afraid of any impact. I want to have a child with you.”

Some families don’t allow lowly concubines to get pregnant, but she wouldn’t be like that. She very much hoped Meng Huan could bear a child for her, regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl.

These words deeply touched Meng Huan. He really didn’t expect that Wen Zhaoyin liked him so much that she was willing to have a child for him. He was truly moved now.

“Alright, we can have as many as you want.”

She was different from the women he encountered before. It’s not that there hadn’t been women willing to have his children before, but compared to Wen Zhaoyin, those women would be instantly overshadowed.

She was strong, independent, and wise, never relying on others. She single-handedly held up the entire Wen family. The several hundred people in the Wen residence all relied on her to live.

For such a woman to say she wants to bear his children, how could one not be moved?

Meng Huan felt he was too muddled before to even think about getting revenge on Wen Zhaoyin.

“Come, let’s go back and change out of the court attire first. It feels quite heavy wearing it. What do you want to eat for lunch? I discovered the cook here makes a mean beggar’s chicken…”

He held her hand and gradually walked away, the thought of wanting to have a proper relationship with her was very strong.