Lihoumen

Chapter 7 I'm Just That Child's Adoptive Father
When Lin Ruoqing was mentioned, the atmosphere in the room became more and more awkward.

"Mother, I'm going to take my new bride to offer tea to grandmother. I'll take my leave now." Shen Han said goodbye.

The old lady was still immersed in the sadness of mentioning Hao'er. Upon hearing this, she waved at her son and did not try to keep him.

Fortunately, Shen Han suggested leaving. If he didn't leave, Qingqing really wouldn't be able to control her temper and would stay any longer.

After leaving the old lady's Chunxi Hall, Qingqing couldn't help but quicken her pace, leaving Shen Han behind and walking in front. She didn't stop until she heard someone calling her from behind.

It was Aunt Xu who was beside the old lady.

She caught up with Qingqing and handed her a lacquered wooden box. "Madam, this is the tea gift that the old lady prepared for you. When the children were making a fuss in the house just now, the old lady forgot about it. I only remembered it after you left, so I specially asked this maid to bring it to you."

Seeing that Qingqing had no intention of accepting it, Aunt Xu casually opened the box and said with a smile, "Look, this is top-quality jadeite. This raw stone was given as a dowry by the old lady of the Wang family when she got married. After the young masters got married one after another, the old lady ordered a skilled craftsman to make four pairs of jade bracelets, one for each daughter-in-law."

As she spoke, she waved the wooden box towards Shen Han who had followed her, "Third Madam, please accept this gift from the old lady."

Each daughter-in-law was given a pair. Although they were the same thing, I was afraid that only the one given to her was the one that was sent out by the servants after she was asked to do so.

To be honest, Qingqing's subconscious reaction was that she didn't want to accept it.

It's not that she was being pretentious because of the old lady's neglect, but she felt that since the old lady didn't regard her as her daughter-in-law from the bottom of her heart, she shouldn't accept other people's things.

At this moment, she even regretted marrying Shen Han.

If Shen Han really loved Lin Ruoqing, and even had an illegitimate child with her, Qingqing would not cling to him, let alone rely on his position as his legal wife.

Although she came from a humble background, she was not a shameless person.

Qingqing was struggling with her conscience, but Shen Han had already reached out to accept the jade bracelet for her: "Since it is mother's intention and other daughters-in-law have it, then we should accept it."

Nanny Xu saw Qingqing's reluctance and thought she would have to persuade her again. But now that Shen Han had accepted it, she smiled with relief and said, "Then I will go back and report first." She added, "Madam Tai has just woken up from her afternoon nap at this hour. Please invite the Third Young Master and Madam over."

"Mammy, take care."

After Shen Han exchanged a few simple greetings with Aunt Xu, he was about to turn around and continue walking, but he saw Qingqing looking up at him without blinking.

Shen Han stopped and asked in surprise: "What's wrong?"

Seeing Qingqing remained silent, he frowned slightly and said, "Is it because you were wronged by your mother just now that you are in a bad mood?"

She was indeed in a bad mood, but the main reason was not just because she was treated coldly by her mother-in-law.

"I heard that Hao'er called you 'Daddy', what's going on?" This time, she asked directly.

After Shen Han heard her question, he was stunned for a moment, then he replied calmly: "I acknowledged the child as my adopted son."

Is he an adopted son?
Qingqing still stared at Shen Han with a cold face.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Seeing this, Shen Han frowned even deeper and looked down at her.

Qingqing retracted her gaze, her face wooden, and said calmly: "I'm not unhappy at all, I just find it hard to understand that someone as cold-hearted as you suddenly adopted someone else's child as your adopted son."

After that, she walked towards the lady's residence with a wooden face. Shen Han stood there for a while, then shook his head slightly and followed.

Qingqing walked in front, Shen Han and her shoulder were touching, and the two of them walked into the lady's Shulan Garden in a depressed mood.

The lady of the marquis's mansion, Shen Han's biological grandmother, was born a princess.

The current emperor has to respect her as Imperial Aunt, and even Empress Dowager Lu, who has the power to cover the sky with one hand, has to call her Imperial Sister.

Princesses of all dynasties had their own princess palaces, but this eldest princess and her late husband were deeply in love, so she lived with her husband in the marquis's mansion after marriage. This Shulan Garden was designed by Shen Han's grandfather himself, and was built for his beloved wife by skilled craftsmen.

It is summer now, and the Shulan Garden is full of lush grass, chirping birds, and clusters of flowers everywhere, creating a pleasant scenery.

As soon as the two of them walked to the main hall entrance, they saw a female official in her fifties coming out to greet them. Shen Han stepped forward first and greeted them, "Aunt Qiu, why did you bother to come and greet me in person?"

The female official was very respectable. When she saw the young couple, she walked up to them slowly and said with a smile, "Your Highness has been waiting for you, young master and your wife, for a long time. Knowing that you are coming today, the princess was so happy that she didn't even take a nap."

"It shows that grandma is thinking about us." Shen Han's mouth curled up slightly, perhaps intentionally trying to ease the atmosphere. While speaking, his eyes subconsciously glanced at his wife beside him.

After he joked with Aunt Qiu, he turned around, looked at Qingqing and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see your grandmother."

Qingqing didn't give Shen Han much response, just nodded lightly.

As they were talking, Aunt Qiu led the young couple up the long stone steps. Shen Han politely extended his hand to Qingqing, but Qingqing did not give him her hand. Seeing this, Shen Han did not force her, but walked up the steps with her and entered the main hall.

Although it was summer, perhaps because of the exquisite design of the temple and the many large ice jars placed inside, as soon as I stepped into the temple, I felt refreshed all over.

"It's still cool here, grandma."

When he met the lady, Shen Han shouted something before he even started to greet her.

"When you were a kid, you would stay here in the palace every summer." The old lady in the main hall glared at her grandson, then looked at Qingqing, and nodded with surprise, saying, "Qing girl always wore dark clothes before, those colors don't suit her." Then she turned to Aunt Qiu who was standing beside her and said, "Look at this girl, she looks so beautiful when she wears these bright colors."

Hearing this, Aunt Qiu looked at Qingqing and agreed with a smile, "That's right, the Third Madam is really a beauty."

"Grandma, you are too kind. Aunt, you are too kind."

Qingqing responded politely, bowed to the lady in a proper manner, and then was led by a female official to sit down with Shen Han.

Shen Han glanced at his wife beside him, and then said to the lady, "If grandma likes it, I will let her come to you often to show her filial piety in the future."

The lady smiled and said, "Grandmother naturally likes such a good person, but you two are newlyweds, and I, an old lady, don't want to compete with my grandson for someone."

Although the lady was a princess, she was very clear-minded and did not put on airs in front of the younger generation, so Qingqing felt much more relaxed in front of her.

When Qingqing heard the old lady's joke, she said shyly, "Grandma, if you don't mind, I would like to come to you every day to show my filial piety. Following you, I can also learn some rules."

The old lady smiled and replied, "What rules? As a member of the royal family, I have been bound by rules since I was a child. Now that I am old, I hate those annoying rules the most."

　Qingqing: Your mother doesn’t like me, and I don’t want to accept her bracelet.

　　Shen Han: Madam, the bracelet is innocent.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)