Noble Son-in-Law - Chapter 18.2

Chapter 18.2

In the East Palace.

The Crown Prince Zhao Ji was furious when he learnt that his plan was changed by his father. He had never thought Shen Qingqing would end up with Li Zhi. He flipped over the table and strode out to go to meet his mother.

“Mother, it’s okay if you don’t choose Qingqing. Why do you encourage my father Emperor to give her to Li Zhi?”

As soon as the Queen signalled maids except the maid next to her in the hall to go out, Zhao Ji asked with an extremely disreputable tone.

Seeing his son was very rude to her because of a woman, Queen Shen laughed angrily before scolding him. “The prince really wants to know? Then you go ask the Noble Concubine!”

‘Noble concubine?’ Zhao Ji had a bad feeling and questioned the Queen hurriedly, “What do you mean, the Noble Concubine is causing trouble?”

Queen Shen was too lazy to pay attention to her son anymore. She lowered her head and continued to prune her flowers and plants.

The confidant maid next to Queen Shen thoughtfully explained the situation to the young prince. “Your Highness, the Emperor obviously promised the Queen, but when the other side fainted and revealed she was pregnant, the outcome of the matter changed drastically.”

‘Li Zhi, that bratty villain!’ Out of hatred for seizing beauty, Zhao Ji punched the table.

Queen Shen didn’t even look at it and said sarcastically, “Your Majesty, if you have nothing else to do, you can go.”

Zhao Ji then remembered that he was very rude just now to his mother and hurriedly went over to apologise. “Mother, I am confused, and I have offended you. Please forgive me, mother.”

Zhao Ji was her biological child; therefore, Queen Shen couldn’t turn her head for the prince. She sighed and said while looking at budding flowers in front of her, “The matter has come to this, and there is no point in getting angry. Jiarong is your biological cousin. When she enters the palace, you should treat her well. Don’t make your uncle and aunt sad.”

She had already offended her father and third brother about the draft, so she knew that if her son treated her niece harshly again, she would completely push away all her relatives.

Zhao Ji reluctantly agreed. ‘I would rather have another concubine than her.’

He didn’t like Shen Jiarong at all. He thought that she was not attractive and had an unpleasant temperament.

****

Three days had passed since the decree of marriage came, and from that day, Shen Qingqing had locked herself in her boudoir.

She was not in a position to decline the decree, and she didn’t want her parents to worry too much. She didn’t want to marry Li Zhi, but she had no other option.

Shen Tingwen and his wife were very worried when they saw that their daughter’s no smiling face. They clearly understood that their daughter didn’t like to marry the man.

“It’s all the Queen and the Prince’s fault!” In the dead of night, Mrs. Chen couldn’t help complaining to her husband about the culprits.

Shen Tingwen was at a loss. He knew that it was indeed his half-sister’s fault, but what could he do? His half-sister’s status was too high for him to make the decision for his daughter.

The next day, on his way to court, Shen Tingwen met his father, who was also going to court.

Shen Tingwen took a peek and found that the old man’s undereyes were dark, as if he had not slept well last night.

When Shen Tingwen realised that his birth mother had likewise criticised the old man, he felt relieved.

Both his wife and he wanted to place the blame on the old man. He failed to teach the queen, despite the fact that he had been extremely rigorous with his brothers and him. He even didn’t let them eat more than one piece of meat when they were young.

“Third brother, why don’t Qingqing want to marry Li Zhi?” Shen Qushenge asked his third son coldly.

Shen Tingwen was forced to rely on his daughter’s justifications, which included Li Zhi’s age and status as a merchant.

Upon hearing the response, Shen Qushenge’s old face sank. “The choice of a son-in-law is based on the person’s character and talent. What does age have to do with it? There is also the family background. Your mother is also the daughter of a businessman. Could it be that she also dislikes her grandmother?”

Shen Tingwen lowered his head and replied politely, “What my father said was that I will definitely advise Qingqing later.”

Thinking of Mir. Song’s cold face yesterday and this morning, Shen Qushenge vented his anger on his son. “Qingqing is so arrogant because of your lax teaching.”

Shen Tingwen didn’t say his words aloud but said them in his heart. ‘ You are strict in teaching, so how did you teach the Queen to be like this?’

When the son and the father went to the court, a rare guest came to the third room.

Mrs. Chen came out in surprise. “Auntie, why are you here?” She said and held Mrs. Song’s arm.

[TL: Although Mrs. Song is Shen Tingwen’s biological mother, she was a concubine. Because of this, her biological children are not allowed to call her “mother.” It was a rule in ancient China.]

For almost thirty years, Mrs. Song was Shen Qushenge’s concubine and had never broken any of the regulations. But today, she broke the rules and visited the third room because of her precious granddaughter.

“You go and do your business; I’ll go see Qingqing.” Mrs. Song said to her daughter-in-law with a smile.

Mrs. Chen felt ashamed and said, “My daughter-in-law is incompetent, so you have to worry about it.”

Mrs. Song shook her head, praised her daughter-in-law a few times, and then went to her granddaughter’s yard.

When Mrs. Song went to Shen Qingqing’s yard, the little girl was still in the bed with an unkempt appearance.

“Girl, the concubine is here.” Yuchan came in first with a quick step to deliver the message.

‘Grandmother?’ Shen Qingqing got up quickly but stopped there, too lazy to get out of bed.

When Mrs. Song entered through the curtained opening, she noticed her young granddaughter seated on the bed and having dishevelled hair.

“What on earth did Ping Xihou do to make my Qingqing so angry?” Mrs. Song questioned, gesturing for the servants to go out.

Shen Qingqing sobbed, curling her lips, and fell into her grandmother’s arms. “You know what, Grandma? He didn’t even consider saving me that day. Cao Xiong threw me into the lake, intending to force Li Zhi to save me so as to give him a chance to escape. But… but he… only glanced at me once and chased after Cao Xiong. By now, I would have been a lonely ghost if I hadn’t known how to swim.”

Those words surprised Mrs. Song. She never thought such an incident would happen. ‘No wonder my granddaughter resisted. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to marry a man who once ignored my life.’

“It’s really annoying, but he tried so hard to marry you. Is he trying to make up for what he did that day?” Mrs. Song still thought highly of Li Zhi because Shen Qushenge had told her many nice things about him the previous evening.

Shen Qingqing gave a smirk without replying.

Yuchan entered abruptly and said, “Girl, concubine, the concierge sent someone to tell you that the Marquis is here.”

End of chapter 18

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