Noble Son-in-Law - Chapter 12.1

Chapter 12.1

After returning to the Shen Mansion, Shen Qingqing handed the bird over to the care of the maids, and she entered the inner room by herself.

 Shen Qingqing shut the door, sat on the bed, carefully lowered the gauze curtain, and then opened the small wooden box given to her by the store clerk.

The phoenix decoration wasn’t very attractive, and Shen Qingqing looked at the black fabric in the box with curiosity, then bit her lip before opening it.

Under the black fabric, there was a note.

Shen Qingqing looked at the note and saw a message saying that coming often might cause misunderstandings, so he hoped she would understand.

The letters looked nice, and the strokes were clear and smooth, just like Li Zhi’s fake smile, which felt refreshing to those who didn’t know about it.

Shen Qingqing read the note again and again and breathed heavily to suppress her anger. ‘Li Zhi… you scoundrel! It seems that he is not considering my reputation and is teasing me for waiting for him.‘

He knew that she just wanted her shoe back, but he was still making fun of her. Thinking about that, Shen Qingqing’s blood began to boil, and she quickly ripped up the note.

 *****

Queen Shen would be celebrating her forty-third birthday in the palace at the end of June.

Queen Shen was highly praised by the ministers for her frugality and virtuousness; therefore, a virtuous queen would naturally not lavishly hold her birthday.

On her birthday, only the women in the Shen family went to the palace.

The three sisters, Shen Qingqing, Shen Jiarong, and Shen Jiayi, walked together behind the older people. When they got to the palace, everyone followed the rules and stayed quiet. But each person’s calmness was unique. Shen Qingqing and Shen Jiayi smiled and stayed relaxed, but Shen Jiarong frowned and looked at the two sisters next to her occasionally.

Shen Qingqing and Shen Jiayi both wore new summer clothes. The beautiful Suzhou embroidery fabric was soft and flowed like a waterfall when they walked. The two sisters wore jasper and pearl earrings on their ears. However, compared to those two girls, Shen Jiarong only wore a simple plain dress and only a silver hairpin as an accessory, and the delicate earrings of her sisters pierced her heart.

After a few minutes, Shen Jiayi caught Shen Jiarong’s glance, and Shen Jiarong quickly looked away, feeling ashamed of being caught. 

The two younger sisters had been dressing this way for almost two weeks, and it was hard not to look at them. Although their grandfather had permitted them to dress nicely, Shen Jiarong didn’t get her mother’s approval, so she had to dress in the usual way.

If all three sisters stayed home, it didn’t matter, but now they were at the palace and were going to see the cousin prince. ‘How can my cousin see me in his eyes when he has two beautiful cousin sisters.’Shen Jiarong got very mad when she thought about it more.

 ****

The Queen and the prince were in the Queen’s palace, admiring a picture that the prince had given to his mother. 

“Did you spend a lot of money on this painting?” Queen Shen asked her son with a frown after looking at it.

The prince, Zhao Ji, smiled and said, “If the queen’s mother likes it, it’s worth whatever it costs.” 

Hearing her son’s sugar-coated words, Queen Shen was happy. She was really happy because her son was filial, but she didn’t want her son to spend too much money on her birthday.

Queen Shen told the maid to put the painting away and whispered to her son, “The expenses in your palace have increased a lot in recent years. You must not get into the habit of being lavish; otherwise, your father will be dissatisfied.”

Zhao Ji sneered as a response. ‘Since Concubine Chun showed up, my father started treating us colder and colder. She still hasn’t given birth to a boy, and if that woman has a baby boy in the future, will my father give that boy the little crown prince?’

“The queen mother is very worried, but I know how to make decisions on my own,” Zhao Ji said without much interest.

Queen Shen looked at her son and was about to give a few more instructions when a palace official suddenly stepped in and said that the Shen family had arrived.

When Queen Shen heard this, she didn’t look surprised; she was just a little tired. The Shen family was her natal family, but her father and elder brother devoted themselves to the royal court and wouldn’t make any plans for her or the prince. The wives in the Shen family were not blood-related, so she didn’t have to rely on them. Therefore, Queen Shen didn’t even try to be nice to her eldest sister-in-law Xia and her niece Shen Jiarong, who always tried to please her.

“Please come inside,” Queen Shen said calmly.

Zhao Ji helped his mother sit down, then sat on the other side and looked towards the door lazily.

Have a nice day!

 * Chapter update schedule:- every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

 * You can find out chapter updates in discord server  – https://discord.gg/BRWw9xSBdk