Lihoumen

Chapter 8: This unborn child is strange

When the maid brought the fragrant tea, Qingqing offered it to the lady-in-waiting as a new bride. The lady-in-waiting took the tea herself, smiled and ordered the female official to bring out two pieces of Shu brocade and give them to Qingqing.

Although Qingqing had never seen the world, she was familiar with Shu brocade.

Shu brocade is a rare tribute. It is said that the palace only gets a dozen pieces a year. It is a rare treasure worth a fortune. Last year, Madam Li finally got a few feet of it, but it was only enough to make a shirt. Madam Liu and Madam Wang were envious of it for a long time.

The lady gave her two horses with a wave of her hand.

This is too expensive!
Seeing this, Qingqing quickly stood up, bowed slightly to the lady, and replied: "Grandma, Shu brocade is precious, and my granddaughter-in-law has done nothing, so it is not appropriate for me to accept such a generous gift from you."

"You saved my grandson's life, isn't that a merit?" The lady said with a smile, and then said angrily, "Besides, no matter how valuable it is, it's just clothing material, and it's meant for people to wear. You are young and beautiful, so you should dress yourself up properly."

The two pieces of Shu brocade, one was Xiangfei color, the other was royal blue. The soft and bright material, held in the maid's hands, emitted a faint glow.

Qingqing turned her head to look at the Shu brocade that the maid brought to her, and replied, "Since it is grandma's love, then granddaughter-in-law will take the Xiangfei-colored one, and grandma should keep the royal blue one for herself."

"This Xiangfei one is perfect for making skirts now, and this royal blue one can be used to make jackets in the fall. You have fair skin, and wearing this royal blue one will definitely make you look more beautiful." said the lady.

The lady really wanted to give both pieces of Shu brocade to Qingqing.

Qingqing understood the madam's intentions, but still felt that the gift was too valuable to accept. She was hesitating when Shen Han said, "Since it's given by your grandmother, just accept it."

As he spoke, he stood up, raised his hand and took the two pieces of Shu brocade and placed them on the table beside Qingqing.

Seeing that the Madam was happy today, Aunt Qiu leaned over to her ear and suggested, "The palace sent over a lot of sweet wine yesterday. Why don't I tell the kitchen to prepare a few side dishes and have the Third Young Master and the Third Madam accompany you for dinner."

After hearing Aunt Qiu's proposal, the Madam smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Then, she turned to Shen Han and Qing Qing and said, "You two should stay and taste the sweet wine with grandma."

Shen Han agreed.

The young couple was chatting with the lady here when a female official came in and said that Shen Han's followers came with urgent matters.

After a while, Shen Han's servant Ajiang came in, saw Shen Han, frowned and said: "Sir, the Zhao family has come, and they want to see the cousin of the Lin family. The first and second wives have gone there. The Zhao family is very arrogant, and they insist that we are harboring his wife. They also said that if the cousin is not handed over, they will report to the police. The two ladies can't stop them, so they ordered me to find you to deal with it."

When Shen Han heard this, his originally calm expression became serious.

The lady was puzzled and asked, "Which Zhao family?"

Shen Han hurriedly explained to the lady, "It's the Linxi Zhao family, the husband's family of Lin's cousin."

He explained, "After Zhao Heng, the son of the Zhao family, passed away, the Zhao family could not tolerate my cousin and drove her out. My cousin had no choice but to return to her parents' home. The Lin family wanted to go to Linxi to find the Zhao family to argue, but they were convicted at this juncture. Because of her status as a married woman, my cousin was spared from exile. She had no choice but to go to the countryside, but the Zhao family went to the countryside to cause trouble for her again and again. When I returned triumphantly, I passed by there and brought my cousin back."

After hearing what Shen Han said, the lady frowned slightly and asked, "I heard that the daughter of the Lin family has a child. It's the one she was holding at the banquet yesterday, right?"

Shen Han nodded and said yes.

The old lady looked at her grandson and asked, "When you came back yesterday, I heard the child calling you 'Daddy'?" The old lady guessed, "Did you adopt the child as your adopted son?" Shen Han nodded again and said, "Grandmother is right, I did adopt the child as my adopted son."

Then he added: "The Lin family has fallen on hard times, and my cousin is left alone, and she is bullied and oppressed by her husband's family. My grandson did this just to give my cousin and the child something to rely on."

"Although he is an adopted son, he is also included in our family tree. Grandmother won't blame me, right?" Shen Han asked.

The lady smiled faintly and replied, "I have nothing to blame you for." Then she turned her head to look at Qingqing who was sitting silently beside her and said, "You shouldn't ask me for my opinion on this matter. Instead, you should ask your wife for her opinion."

After Shen Han heard what the old lady said, he subconsciously turned his head to look at Qingqing beside him. Seeing that there was nothing unusual on his wife's face, he replied to the old lady, "I didn't have time to tell you about this matter in advance, but Qingqing has always been tolerant and kind. I believe that she, like me, sympathizes with the suffering Lin cousin and the child."

After hearing what her grandson said, the lady said nothing else. The smile on her face gradually faded. She told Shen Han, "Helping others is a good deed, but you have to know when to stop."

Shen Han nodded: "Grandson will remember it."

Ajiang was still downstairs anxiously inviting Shen Han to come over. Seeing this, Qingqing said, "Since the Zhao family is still waiting in front, then my husband should go over quickly." Then, she bowed slightly to the lady and said, "I am not lucky enough to taste your sweet wine today. I will come to pay my respects to you another day."

After the young couple left, the lady sighed heavily.

Aunt Qiu stepped forward and advised: "Princess, are you worried about the third lady?"

The lady replied: "Such a good child, one can't help but feel pity for him."

Aunt Qiu fanned the lady and said, "From what I've seen, among all the grandsons' wives, the princess seems to like the third lady especially."

Among the four granddaughters-in-law, Qingqing is the one with the lowest birth, but she is the most favored by the royal princess. Even Aunt Qiu, who claims to understand her master, finds this difficult to understand.

"These granddaughters-in-law are all good in their own ways, and those few are not bad either." The old lady murmured, "It's just that I have been dealing with noble ladies all my life, and I am used to seeing how these women are very good at dealing with people. At this age, I feel that this Qing girl is kind-hearted and more to my liking."

Aunt Qiu suddenly said, "So that's how it is."

The lady said again: "I can see that this girl really likes Han'er. I'm just afraid that Han'er has let her down."

Aunt Qiu asked tentatively, "You mean, the Third Young Master is still in love with the girl from the Lin family."

Seeing that the Madam was silent, Aunt Qiu pondered and said, "Tell me, is Miss Lin's child really from the Zhao family? The cousin of the Lin family married less than a month ago and her husband passed away. This posthumous child is a bit strange."

Upon hearing this, the lady turned around and frowned, "What did you hear from the front yard?"

Aunt Qiu replied, "The front yard is tight-lipped, so I haven't heard anything. But I saw the old lady yesterday like the child as if he were her own grandson. It seemed a little unusual."

Then he added, "If this child is really from the Zhao family, the Zhao family has been a single-son family for three generations. Since the only son, Zhao Heng, is gone, how could they easily let Miss Lin take this child out?"

　Qingqing: Shu brocade is precious, I don’t want to accept such a generous gift from my grandmother.

　　Shen Han: If you like it, keep it. If you are too embarrassed to do so, I will accept it for you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)