Noble Son-in-Law - Chapter 13.2

Chapter 13.2

Shen Jiayue, the fourth girl in the Shen family, was already married and had given birth to a fat baby boy recently.

Shen Jiayue got married to Han Yan, the leader of the imperial army.

Han Yan was a well-known man in the city. He was born into a powerful family in the capital. At a young age, he became a fourth-grade captain. He didn’t lack anything, such as appearance, wealth, or power, but no one dared dream of marrying him because he was already engaged. 

However, something happened in the middle, and Han Yan married Shen Jiayue.

One day, Shen Jiayue went to the temple to burn incense and ran into a drunken nobleman. The man tried to have his own way with Shen Jiayue, but Han Yan came and stopped him. 

The hero saved the beauty, and then the beauty wanted to marry the hero despite the hero having a fiancée. 

****

On the third day after the baby was born, all the women in the Shen family went to the Han Mansion to celebrate and offer their good wishes.

Before getting out of the carriage, Shen Qingqing quietly peeked through the curtain and saw a tall and impressive man standing in front of the Han Mansion. He looked around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old.

“The fourth brother-in-law is handsome,” Shen Qingqing said as she put down the curtain and looked back at her mother.

Mrs. Chen smiled and said, “You girls are only looking at the appearance. The most important thing when choosing a husband is to look at his character. As long as the husband is kind to his wife, it doesn’t matter if he is not so good-looking.”

Shen Qingqing raised her eyebrows and asked with a teasing tone, “Oh, Mom said it nicely. If my father didn’t look so good, would the daughter of your majestic Duke’s family fall in love with him? When you married into the Shen family, our grandfather wasn’t as high and mighty as he is now.”

Mrs. Chen’s ears feel hot and tingly. Actually, what her daughter said was true. When she first saw her husband, the first thing she noticed was how he looked, and she knew it was her future husband. “Get out of the carriage and stop saying silly things,” Mrs. Chen said, feeling guilty. She pretended to be angry with her daughter. 

Shen Qingqing laughed quietly.

After some time, the three sisters stood in front of Han Yan and all called him brother-in-law at the same time.

Han Yan struggled to respond for a few seconds. He smiled at the three beautiful sisters-in-law and said, “Hurry up and go inside. Jiayue is waiting for you all morning.”

The three small girls went away to see Shen Jiayue.

Shen Jiayue’s room was a bit stuffy and filled with the faint smell of milk. Shen Jiarong was not used to it and subconsciously backed off, and only Shen Jiayi and Shen Qingqing anxiously approached the bed.

Shen Jiayue was on the bed wearing her middle coat. When she saw the two sisters, she smiled. “Seventh Sister is very mean. She has been back in Beijing for so long but didn’t come to see me.”

Shen Qingqing acted like a child and said, “It’s really hot these days. If I want to go out on a hot day, will my fourth sister accompany me?”

Shen Jiayue faked twisting her mouth.

Shen Qingqing looked at her nephew with a happy smile, but seeing the baby with a wrinkled face, she lost the interest. ‘Why is he like a monkey?’

When the eldest lady and other people came in, Shen Jiayue told the three little girls to go to the garden.

The Han family’s house was much smaller and less nice than the Shen Mansion, which was given by the Emperor. 

The three sisters went to the garden, walked around it for a bit, and then sat in the gazebo by the pond.

“Hmph, people are saying that the fourth brother-in-law is not kind to the fourth sister.” Shen Jiayi said with a frown. “But they don’t know that when the fourth sister was pregnant, she couldn’t eat due to severe morning sickness. The fourth brother-in-law also didn’t eat because he wanted to share the joys and sorrows with the fourth sister.”

Upon hearing that, Shen Qingqing was surprised. ‘Oh, then the fourth brother-in-law is such a nice man!’

Shen Jiarong waved her fan while looking at the garden. “The fourth brother-in-law is really nice, but his family doesn’t have much money, and I feel bad for my fourth sister.”

Shen Jiayi: “The fifth sister sounded very serious. Even a young military officer can’t get your attention. I’m curious about who the fifth sister will marry in the future.”

Shen Jiarong was mad at hearing such words at first, but when she thought about marrying the prince and becoming the princess, she felt happy. ‘Shen Jiayi, let’s see who would have to kneel to show respect to me in the future.’

‘Hahaha. The argument between the two sisters is very interesting.’ Shen Qingqing was listening to it with interest when she suddenly saw a figure turning towards the entrance of the garden. He was a tall man—taller than Han Yan. He was carrying a little girl of five or four years who looked like a doll. And that little girl was blocking the man’s face, so Shen Qingqing couldn’t recognise him.

“Who is that?” Shen Qingqing asked Shen Jiayi. There were not a lot of people at the Han family’s house, so Shen Qingqing thought Shen Jiayi would recognise him.

Shen Jiayi stretched her neck and peered over. When she saw the little girl’s face clearly, Shen Jiayi’s eyes got bigger, and she asked Shen Jiarong in surprise, “Do you think that girl is the second princess?”

Shen Jiarong saw the little girl and recognised her. “Yes, it’s her.”

 ‘Second princess? The daughter of the noble concubine? The man holding the second princess… is…’ Bad suspicions welled up in Shen Qingqing’s heart, and she stared at the tall man. 

Finally, the man turned sideways and revealed his face. He had long eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a handsome face. 

Shen Qingqing was very angry. ‘Why is this guy here?’

“Is that Ping Xihou?” Shen Jiarong quietly asked.

Shen Jiayi nodded her head and said, “The fourth brother-in-law works for him, so he probably invited Ping Xihou for a drink. But I don’t know why the second princess also came.”

 [TL: “Ping Xihou” is Li Zhi’s given noble title.]

While they were talking quietly, Li Zhi hugged the second princess and walked towards the pavilion.

‘If I have an opportunity, I’ll definitely meet him and ask.’ Shen Qingqing bit her lip and thought.

Although the second princess was a child, she was a member of the royal family; therefore, the three sisters stood up and walked to greet the second princess.

The second princess blinked her pretty phoenix eyes. She looked at Shen Jiarong and Shen Jiayi first and then focused on Shen Qingqing’s face. She looked at Shen Jiarong for a while, then she leaned in and whispered in her uncle’s ear, “Uncle, that sister is very pretty. Apart from my mom, she is the most beautiful.”

The second princess was still a little girl, so she was not very good at whispering. 

Hearing her words, Shen Jiarong and Shen Jiayi both looked at Shen Qingqing.

Shen Qingqing felt a bit embarrassed when someone praised her in front of Li Zhi. She lowered her head and heard Li Zhi asking, “Which sister?”

Shen Qingqing: “...”

She was confident that Li Zhi did it on purpose. 

“That,” The young princess pointed at Shen Qingqing with her chubby finger and said.

Li Zhi looked at Shen Qingqing’s red cheeks and told his niece, “Wanwan is prettier than her.” 

The second princess smiled happily upon hearing her uncle’s words.

‘This man…’ Shen Qingqing couldn’t hold back anymore. She looked up and stared angrily at Li Zhi. After staring for a few seconds, she quickly turned her eyes elsewhere, not wanting to look at him anymore.

Seeing that, Li Zhi smiled and told his niece to avoid courtesy.

Shen Qingqing was mad and didn’t want to argue with Li Zhi. She stood up, grabbed Shen Jiayi, and was going to go. Out of nowhere, the second princess asked, “Who are you? Have you been to the palace before? I’ve never seen you before.”

Shen Qingqing smiled at the second princess and replied, “My daughter, Shen Qingqing, is the daughter of Shen Tingwen, a doctor in the household department. She went to the palace when she was young. For the last three years, she had to leave her home and live in a different place with her dad. So she has no chance to see the princess.”

[TL: In front of members of the royal family, others didn’t use “I” as far as I know. If I’m wrong, please leave a comment.]

The second princess was surprised and didn’t know how to respond. Suddenly, the red cloth ball she was holding dropped and rolled on the ground; it just rolled to Shen Qingqing’s feet. 

My ball dropped!” The second princess became anxious.

Li Zhi said, “Thank you, Miss Seven.” 

Hearing that, Shen Qingqing took a big breath, crouched down, grabbed the ball, lowered her head, and walked to Li Zhi. She held the ball and gave it to the little princess.

Just as the second princess was about to grab it, Li Zhi got the ball first.

The ball was gone, but Shen Qingqing had something in her hand.

As everyone was looking at Shen Qingqing, she couldn’t look at the thing in her hand. 

“Thank you.” Li Zhi gave the ball to his niece and smiled at Shen Qingqing.

Shen Qingqing was about to say something, but Li Zhi hugged the second princess and walked away without even looking at her.

Shen Qingqing said, “...”

End of chapter 13

Have a nice day!