5 – The Daughter-in-law
Ye Chen looked at Xiao Taijun and thought, “This grandmother is still so mischievous and still so protective of her own.”
Indeed, making her granddaughter-in-law, who was also the Duchess, kneel and kowtow to these relatives she only saw once a year—without receiving any particularly valuable gifts in return—was hardly worth the trouble.
In truth, Xiao Taijun’s gifts were quite lavish. Although the presents from the elders below didn’t need to match or surpass hers, they couldn’t be too far off either.
So, the gifts originally prepared by the uncles and aunts were hastily replaced at the last minute.
That second aunt, for instance, had initially prepared only a pearl hairpin—her pearls were merely slightly better than those bought from the street. But now, she had no choice but to take off the most valuable jade bracelet she was wearing and slip it onto Shen Qiu’s wrist.
After Shen Qiu had finished acknowledging everyone, Xiao Taijun dismissed the crowd and said to Shen Qiu, “Qiu’er, your grandfather has difficulty moving. Let me take you to his bedside to offer him tea.”
Shen Qiu smiled and said, “As Grandmother arranges.”
Ye Chen walked over to Xiao Taijun and Shen Qiu and said to Xiao Taijun, “Grandmother, you’ve been holding onto my wife for quite a while now. How about returning her to me?”
Xiao Taijun and Shen Qiu were taken aback. Xiao Taijun then burst into laughter and said, “You rascal, do you think I’d eat your wife? What if I decide to monopolize her today?”
“Let me tell you, this is my granddaughter-in-law, and I treasure her dearly. Don’t you dare bully her, understand?”
Ye Chen smiled and said, “How could I? I promise I won’t bully Qiu’er in the future, Grandmother. You have my word.”
Xiao Taijun snorted coldly, lifted Shen Qiu’s hand, and said, “You didn’t bully her? Then how did she get these injuries on her hand?”
Ye Chen froze for a moment, then knelt before Xiao Taijun and said, “Grandmother, I was wrong. I did something foolish yesterday. Please punish me.”
Without another word, Xiao Taijun raised her hand to strike Ye Chen, but Shen Qiu quickly grabbed her hand and said, “Grandmother, what are you doing?”
“The injuries on my hand are from me pinching myself. It has nothing to do with my husband.”
Xiao Taijun looked at Shen Qiu and said, “If this rascal didn’t bully you, why would you pinch yourself?”
Shen Qiu’s face instantly flushed red down to her neck, and she murmured softly, “It’s… it’s because I was afraid of the pain, so… I pinched myself.”
Xiao Taijun seemed to suddenly realize something, coughed dryly, and lowered her hand. She subtly kicked Ye Chen and then said, “Well… let’s go see your grandfather.”
Ye Chen’s grandfather, Ye Xuan, was the former Assistant State Duke. Originally, as long as he was alive, his descendants could not inherit the title. But after his son, daughter-in-law, and daughter died in battle, he fell gravely ill and never recovered.
Later, after discussing with Xiao Taijun, they sought a special favor from the emperor to allow Ye Chen to inherit the title early. Actually, even for founding elders, such a favor was not easily granted. But then again, Ye Chen’s mother was the elder sister of the current emperor.
Ye Chen’s mother, Chu Wan, was the current emperor’s biological sister. After their parents passed away one after another, and before the empire was fully stabilized, Chu Wan stood in front of her younger brother, bearing all the hardships that should have fallen on him.
Later, she and her husband—Ye Chen’s father—went to war together and died on the battlefield. Therefore, the current emperor, Chu Jie, treated his nephew with exceptional favor.
After Shen Qiu offered tea to the Old Duke, he gave her a long sword—unsharpened—that he had originally intended as a gift for Xiao Taijun. But Xiao Taijun had found it too flashy and refused to accept it.The sword hilt was adorned with a ruby, and the entire scabbard was inlaid with numerous decorations, including dragons and phoenixes intricately woven with gold thread.
Afterward, the four generations—grandparents and grandchildren—shared breakfast in the Old Duke’s bedchamber before Ye Chen took Shen Qiu and departed.
Watching Ye Chen and Shen Qiu’s retreating figures, the Old Duke remarked, “They seem to get along well, putting our minds at ease.”
Xiao Taijun replied, “Your eyesight is as poor as ever. Your grandson is bullying your granddaughter-in-law.”
“That rascal is putting on an act for me. Does he think I didn’t notice the marks on Shen Qiu’s neck? Do you really believe those were…”
“They were bite marks! It infuriates me.”
The Old Duke chuckled. “I don’t think Chen’er is pretending. Haven’t you noticed? The light in his eyes when he looks at Shen Qiu is impossible to conceal.”
“I believe the boy truly cares for Xiao Qiu.”
Xiao Taijun sighed. “Let’s hope so!”
Ye Chen held Shen Qiu’s hand all the way, and though she tried to pull away twice, she couldn’t free herself.
He brought her to a place called Xi Garden and said to her, “This was my father and mother’s courtyard. Let’s pay our respects and inform them of our marriage, alright?”
Shen Qiu responded, “They are my parents-in-law; it is only right to honor them.”
She then turned to the maids behind them and said, “All of you, wait outside.”
After Ye Chen and Shen Qiu entered, an elderly matron approached and bowed to them. “Duke, Madam, please follow me.”
Ye Chen said, “Thank you, Granny Hua.”
Granny Hua had been Chu Wan’s personal palace maid. She had been fiercely loyal during Chu Wan’s lifetime and had guarded Xi Garden ever since her passing, which was why Ye Chen treated her with great respect.
Since Ye Chen’s parents were still alive in memory, their tablets had not yet been placed in the ancestral hall.
After Ye Chen and Shen Qiu offered incense to his parents, Ye Chen retrieved a box from a cabinet and approached Shen Qiu. “This was prepared by my mother before she passed. She said that when I took a wife, I should give this to her.”
He opened the box to reveal a white jade bracelet. Upon closer inspection, a faint red thread could be seen winding around it.
Ye Chen smiled and continued, “My mother said this is meant to be passed down through the generations of daughters-in-law. So, in the future, you will hand it down to our son’s wife.”
Shen Qiu glanced at the bracelet, then at Ye Chen, and said, “I’m not suited to accept this. You said we wouldn’t have children. If I take it, there will be no one to pass it on to.”
Ye Chen’s face darkened instantly. Well, he had brought this upon himself.
Ignoring her protests, he grabbed Shen Qiu’s left hand and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, then removed the jade bracelet given by his aunt from her right hand.
He declared, “Now that it’s on you, if you take it off, I’ll smash it right here. Since you have no intention of passing it down, we might as well destroy it in front of my mother.”
Shen Qiu was both exasperated and amused by his antics. She wanted to hit him but feared he couldn’t handle it; if she didn’t, how could he be so shameless?
Just yesterday, he had gone on about birth control soup and other such things, and now he was blaming her for not continuing the legacy? How did he always manage to twist things in his favor?
Gritting her teeth, Shen Qiu retorted, “Fine, then go ahead and smash it!” She made a move to remove the bracelet. But to her surprise, Ye Chen suddenly leaned in and kissed her, holding her tightly. If Shen Qiu weren’t trained in martial arts, she was sure her ribs would have cracked under his grip.Shen Qiu struggled to break free, then bit Ye Chen’s lip with her teeth. Even when she tasted blood, Ye Chen showed no intention of loosening his grip.
Shen Qiu stopped biting. She didn’t respond but no longer resisted either. Only when Ye Chen felt her cease struggling did he slowly withdraw from her lips. Breathing heavily, he pressed his forehead against hers and pleaded, “Please, forget what happened yesterday as soon as possible.”
Shen Qiu looked at him and asked, “Why didn’t you dodge when I bit you?”
Ye Chen replied in a hoarse voice, “Compared to the pain I’ve caused you, this is truly insignificant. As long as it helps calm your anger, do whatever you want!”
“Just don’t say you don’t want me, or that you’re leaving me. Anything else is fine!”