Chapter 14: Have as many as you want, don’t overthink it, I’m not afraid of any impact…

Before meeting Zu Jun, Meng Huan thought he must be a fierce-looking, burly old man. But upon meeting him, he discovered that he was an elderly man with kind eyes and a rather bright gaze.

Indeed, this is what they call “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Wen Zhaoyin’s father, that is, Zu Jun, had two daughters with her now-deceased mother.

The eldest legitimate daughter, Wen Zhaohui, was born mentally challenged, always like a six-year-old child. After her diagnosis, she was raised on the Wen family’s estate. It was only after an interval of more than ten years that Zu Jun gave birth to Wen Zhaoyin.

He had invested so much in this intelligent younger legitimate daughter that even now, he would inquire about Wen Zhaoyin’s life every few days, exhibiting strong controlling tendencies.

These were the things Meng Huan had analyzed from listening to Wen Xi’s words on the way here.

He felt that with such an elderly father, forceful methods certainly wouldn’t work. It was better to be as obedient as possible, to make the other party feel unthreatened.

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

He entered the room, and upon seeing Zu Jun, he bowed properly, then didn’t rush to find a place to sit, but stood quietly in place with his head lowered, waiting.

The elder on the seat nodded, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger. He raised his hand and said, “You’re quite well-mannered. Sit down.”

Hearing this, Meng Huan sat down at his side. He had nothing to say to this old man and knew he had been called for a reason, so he just waited.

Sure enough, seeing that he didn’t speak, Zu Jun took the initiative and said, “I haven’t seen you since you entered the household. This is the first time we’re meeting, and now I understand why Zhaoyin likes you so much.”

He had heard before that Meng Huan looked similar to his deceased son-in-law, but he thought it was only somewhat similar. He didn’t expect them to be so alike. If not for the eyes, it would be like seeing the same person.

“Why does the family head like me?” Meng Huan was a bit curious. A career-focused woman like Wen Zhaoyin wouldn’t bring him back to the household just because of one night together. She must have other reasons.

Zu Jun twirled the string of beads in his hand, paused for a moment, then smiled broadly, “Silly child, it’s because you’re handsome!”

She likes him because he looks good? Meng Huan thought about it briefly and felt it seemed to be the case. After all, everyone appreciates beauty. Sometimes when he looked in the mirror, he was struck by his own handsomeness.

Seeing that he didn’t think too much about it, Zu Jun continued, “Actually, there’s nothing much today. I just wanted to meet you. Zhaoyin only has you in her chambers now. You must shoulder the responsibility of continuing the Wen family lineage.”

Meng Huan’s hand paused as he was lifting his tea, wondering why there was such a deep obsession with continuing the family line even in a matriarchal society.

Seeing him not respond, Zu Jun frowned, “The other branches of our Wen family are all thriving, only Zhaoyin’s line is dwindling. She’s always buried in official documents and doesn’t think about these things. You need to be more proactive.”

“Sigh, Zhaoyin hasn’t even given you a proper status. I’m sure you must feel resentful. How about this: if you can add a daughter to the Wen family, I’ll personally make you a side husband!”

For a mere merchant’s illegitimate son, who originally had no status to speak of, Zu Jun felt that promising to make Meng Huan a side husband was already quite elevating for him.

However, Meng Huan showed no reaction after hearing this, because he didn’t know how important being a side husband was for ‘him’. It wasn’t until Wen Xi beside him poked him repeatedly that he stood up to express his gratitude.

Instantly, his image of being somewhat obedient in Zu Jun’s eyes plummeted.

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

The servant at the door bowed to Wen Zhaoyin who was walking in from outside, but she seemed not to notice and walked straight to the hall, observing her father’s and Meng Huan’s reactions.

She had come in a hurry, still wearing her court robes. Zu Jun could guess with his toes who she had come for, which made him even more displeased.

The more displeased he was, the deeper the smile on his face. “Zhaoyin, why are you standing there? Quickly sit down and rest.”

Wen Zhaoyin scrutinized the state of the two of them, and finding nothing unusual, she felt much more at ease. She casually found a seat and sat down.

Zu Jun raised his hand to call for someone to pour tea, and said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything. I just urged him to work hard to continue our family line.”

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

She understood in her heart, nodded and said, “Daughter is already working hard, and will not disappoint your expectations.”

The rest of the conversation was dominated by Zu Jun. He unhurriedly twirled the string of beads in his hand, asking Wen Zhaoyin about various matters, both big and small, recent events in the household and in the official circles.

Finally, when it was almost lunchtime, he graciously said, “I know you young people don’t like dining with old folks. It’s just right to leave now, I’m about to have my meal set up.”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t bother with polite words, she beckoned to Meng Huan to leave. She knew that if she showed even the slightest intention of wanting to stay, her father would keep her talking until evening.

Meng Huan walked side by side with her on the path. The sun was bright overhead, the willow trees along the courtyard walls provided shade, and a gentle breeze blew, soft as a light gauze brushing against their faces.

Come to think of it, this feeling was quite nice.

“Thank you for coming to find me right after court,” he thought, Wen Zhaoyin must have been so anxious because she was afraid Zu Jun would give him a hard time.

She turned her face to look at him, her expression somewhat subtle, “It’s nothing. 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 tacitly fell back a bit. Meng Huan raised his hand and very naturally intertwined his fingers with Wen Zhaoyin’s.

As they walked, he said, “Zu Jun brought up the matter of your family’s lineage today. He must often urge you about this, right?”

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

Many women’s careers are hindered by having children. Meng Huan felt that since she was already holding a third-rank official position at such a young age, she must want to climb even higher. Although women in this matriarchal society were physically stronger, giving birth would still affect the body, right?

With him being so considerate of her, even if Wen Zhaoyin had a heart of stone, it would eventually be warmed by him.

“Career?” she tilted her head inquiringly.

“Ahem, I mean your official career, your future in officialdom.”

Wen Zhaoyin didn’t understand what connection there could be between an official career and having children, but she could hear that Meng Huan was thinking for her benefit. She couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly he had changed over the past few days.

He was becoming more and more endearing.

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

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

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

“Alright, let’s have children. We can have as many as you want.”

She was different from the women he had encountered before. It wasn’t that there hadn’t been women willing to have children for him before, but compared to Wen Zhaoyin, those women paled in comparison in an instant.

She was strong, independent, and wise, never relying on others, and supporting the entire Wen family with her own strength. The several hundred people in the Wen household, high and low, all depended on her for their livelihood.

For such a woman to say she wanted to have children for him, how could one not be moved?

Meng Huan felt that he had been too foolish to have thought about taking revenge on Wen Zhaoyin before.

“Come on, let’s go back and change out of these court robes first. They’re quite heavy. What would you like to eat for lunch? I’ve discovered that the beggar’s chicken made by the household chef is especially delicious…”

He held her hand as they gradually walked away, the desire to have a proper romantic relationship with her was very strong.