Chapter 11 Cutting Spring Clothes: She Needs to Coax Him First

In the evening, Lin Shutang was still organizing the account books in the west wing.

As usual, Shen Yun brought her crab roe pastries when she returned.

Before the food was ready in the small kitchen, Lin Shutang ate crab roe pastries to fill his stomach.

Su Xiang Zhai, located in Li Quan Lane in the south of the city, is a famous pastry shop in the entire capital.

When Lin Shutang first came to Yujing, he was tied up and thrown onto the carriage by Shen Yun.

When passing by Su Xiang Zhai, Lin Shutang, who had been holding back tears all the way, couldn't help but burst into tears.

She remembered that her mother was also a master at making pastries.

The crabs in Xi County are big and plump. When she was a child, she often went down to the river with her senior brother to catch crabs. After they were caught, her mother would cook them.

When they caught too many, their mother would make them different kinds of crab roe pastries. Her crab roe pastries were better than even the best pastry chef in the county.

But after my mother passed away, my father also stopped coming home as often.

He seemed to get busier and busier, and eventually he formed a caravan, which would be gone for more than half a year at a time.

Lin Shutang became increasingly distressed and cried, saying she wanted to return to Xi County and begged Shen Yun to let her go.

Tears soaked his collar completely.

Shen Yun remained silent, but with each shout, his face grew darker and more unsightly.

Finally, as the carriage left Liquan Lane, Shen Yun suddenly stood up and got out of the carriage without warning.

Lin Shutang's tears welled up in her eyes, and for a moment she forgot to cry.

When Shen Yun returned, she was carrying a food box full of crab roe pastries.

The dosage is enough to last for three days.

Lin Shutang stared blankly as Shen Yun placed the food box on the small table and took out the crab roe pastry.

He stared at Lin Shutang, his eyes filled with a sinister glint. "If you don't finish your food, see how I deal with you."

Lin Shutang shivered, not understanding how Shen Yun had figured out that he wanted to eat crab roe pastries.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Lin Shutang felt wronged and sad. She took a big bite, as if she were biting into Shen Yun's flesh.

"Are they making crab roe pastries this season?" Lin Shutang asked.

“Last year, Shengchao opened a trade route with Southeast Asia, and seafood is transported by special personnel.” Shen Yun was still sitting on the couch opposite Lin Shutang, noticing the crumbs on the corner of her mouth.

“Liquan Lane and Yuxiao Field aren’t on the same route, so you don’t need to go through that trouble.” Lin Shutang wiped the cake stains from the corner of her lips and said somewhat awkwardly, “Come back soon.”

The cake stains were wiped away, and even the lip rouge seemed to lose its color, as if it had been eaten.

Shen Yun's Adam's apple bobbed slightly before he looked up at her, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing his eyes.

Lin Shutang immediately lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him. Shen Yun felt a churning in his chest and remained silent for a long while before finally replying softly, "Mm."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shutang felt the chilling gaze above her head finally move away, and she quietly exhaled a breath.

Even though she tried her best to remain calm, she couldn't help but feel guilty under Shen Jun's piercing gaze.

She rarely took the initiative to talk to Shen Jun. After eating crab roe pastries for so many days, she suddenly became curious about the origin of the crabs today and even asked him to return home soon.

Shen Jun must have found it strange.

But she had said before that she wanted to live a good life with Shen Jun, so he shouldn't doubt her too much, right?

Because Lin Shutang had a lot of things to deal with that evening, dinner was served in the west wing.

After the clothes were removed, Lin Shutang began to handle the follow-up matters regarding the cutting of spring clothes.

However, she seemed somewhat distracted, staring at the ledger without turning the page.

"What are you thinking about?" Shen Yun's voice suddenly came from above.

Lin Shutang suddenly realized that the ink on his pen had dripped onto the ledger, almost smudged the writing on the pages.

She hurriedly tried to find something to wipe it, but Shen Yun had already taken the ledger from in front of her and wrapped the ink with silk.

Lin Shutang turned her head to look at him. These days, it was good that Shen Yun sat beside her every night.

He was undoubtedly a very good teacher, always able to answer my questions with just a few simple words.

The affairs within the manor were handled in an orderly manner, and the servants below were all convinced of their merits.

As Shen Yun said, with him accompanying Lin Shutang in the west wing, Lin Shutang's efficiency was indeed much higher.

Therefore, on several nights, no matter how much Lin Shutang tried to delay, Shen Yun still managed to get him to do it.

But Lin Shutang also felt that this was partly due to his quick understanding.

Wasn't she also a very good student?

Shen Yun wiped the ink off the ledger and put it back in front of Lin Shutang.

Looking up at her now, the questioning look in his eyes hadn't faded.

When Lin Shutang met Shen Yun's silent gaze, she felt a momentary sense of guilt, as if she were about to be seen through.

“I was thinking that it would be a waste to throw away the leftover fabric from making new clothes in each department. Why don’t I add some leather and make you some wristbands, knee pads or something?”

With all the people in each room combined, the cost of tailoring spring clothes was not a small sum.

The remaining fabric is not enough to make clothes.

But it would be such a waste to just throw it away. We should make the most of it.

Shen Yun laughed, "Leftover fabric?"

“If you don’t like it, then don’t take it.” Lin Shutang turned to the side, picked up the ledger again and looked through it. “I’ll sew up the extras and make a patchwork quilt for Yan’er.”

At this point, Lin Shutang's eyes lit up, a rare occurrence for him.

In Xi County, when a child is born, each household will take out the best piece of fabric from their home and send it to the new owner.

The owner sewed these scraps of cloth into a "hundred families' quilt" to be used on the child during his 100-day celebration, symbolizing that the child would grow up healthily under the protection of many families.

However, there is no such custom in Yujing.

"Are you going to make it for him yourself?" Shen Yun asked.

Lin Shutang turned her head and looked at him with a "what else?" look, as if Shen Yun was saying something very strange.

"I want one too." Shen Yun met her gaze, unusually stubborn.

"Hmm." Lin Shutang nodded, then turned around again, somewhat confused.

Although she hadn't originally planned to make wrist and knee braces for Shen Yun, her words just now were merely a prelude to what followed, to first express to Shen Yun that she was thinking of him first.

But since Shen Yun also wants it, it doesn't matter if she makes an extra one.

Anyway, knee and wrist braces don't take her much time.

Right now, she needs to appease Shen Yun first.

-

During the garment production, many scraps of fabric were left over. Lin Shutang had them collected and sent to Jingyuan Residence.

She sewed silk and leather together, using the finest deerskin, which is the most durable.

After finishing the knee and wrist guards, she immediately began sewing the Chenyan patchwork quilt.

This doesn't take much effort.

Lin Shutang's needlework skills were not actually very good, but during the three years he spent in the Duke's mansion, he was so bored that he always had to do something to pass the time.

Therefore, while other things were being forgotten, her needlework skills were improving day by day.

In one afternoon, Lin Shutang had almost completed most of the work.

Shen Yun returned in the evening.

Today, instead of bringing Lin Shutang crab meat pastries, he brought some oddly shaped pebbles.

Lin Shutang was very surprised when he received it.

He immediately took the pebbles with great delight and went to the water vat in the yard, where he stacked them up in layers to create a picturesque scene.

The goldfish played under the lotus leaves, slid into the stone cave on the swirling water, and then swam out from the other side.

Lin Shutang was pleased to see this and continued to place pebbles, building a small stone house for them.

Shen Yun found the stones from somewhere. The surface was very smooth, and the pebbles were of various colors, including dark red, dark cyan, and blue-purple, making them exceptionally beautiful.

Shen Yun stood not far behind her, watching quietly.

After Lin Shutang finished and turned around, Shen Yun was already standing beside her.

Lin Shutang was always afraid of Shen Yun. Their relationship had started so tragically that even though Lin Shutang wanted to accept Shen Yun now, her body always reacted faster than her mind.

Upon seeing Shen Yun approach, her first instinct was to tremble, and then she awkwardly asked, "Wh-what's wrong?"

Shen Yun stared at her, not missing any change in her expression.

The fear when she turned around and saw him, the embarrassment when she realized what was happening, and the resistance she felt as she took a slight step back.

Shen Yun lowered her eyes, remained silent, and suppressed all the emotions in her eyes.

He picked up her wet knuckles and slowly wiped them one by one.

The more Lin Shutang struggled, the tighter he gripped her. It was as if he was trying to desensitize her.

The peace of the past few days seemed to be on the verge of being broken, and Lin Shutang felt he could not bear it.

Moreover, she needed Shen Yun's help, so she dared not provoke him.

So they had no choice but to comply.

However, Shen Yun's wiping was so tender that Lin Shutang couldn't help but think of other images.

Despite standing impeccably dressed in broad daylight in the courtyard, Lin Shutang inexplicably felt a touch of alluring atmosphere in the air.

Especially now, Shen Yun is holding her hand and bringing it to her nose to smell it.

Lin Shu-tang's face suddenly turned rosy.

She realized that Shen Yun had done it on purpose!

Lin Shutang frantically tried to pull her hand away, but Shen Yun held it tightly and even looked up at her.

His eyes were dark and turbulent like the sea, as if they were about to engulf her, but they were instantly submerged beneath the surface of ice, causing Lin Shutang to momentarily relax and think that she was seeing things.

...If Shen Yun hadn't been so crazy at night.

"You... um, slow down!" Lin Shutang gasped for breath, her fingertips digging into Shen Yun's shoulder and back.

The canopy bed, though incredibly heavy, creaked softly on this night.

Since Lin Shutang became pregnant, Shen Yun has been able to control herself very well.

When he couldn't bear it anymore, he would just let Lin Shutang relieve it with his hands.

Even during this time, the royal physician said that Lin Shutang had already finished her postpartum confinement and could engage in frequent sexual intercourse.

Shen Yun still cared about her after all, and most of the time it only lasted once or twice.

It wasn't until tonight that Lin Shutang finally realized how long Shen Yun had been holding back.

Lin Shutang gasped for breath, feeling like a fish on a chopping board, being cut to the bone with every stroke, being turned over and over at will.

My soul seemed to leave my body, and my whole body floated up.

But it was clearly very heavy each time, both painful and sore.

Lin Shutang stared at the swaying tent ceiling with her eyes wide open, hot tears streaming down her face. She felt as if she had been crushed and completely drained.

In the hazy fog, Lin Shutang vaguely saw Shen Yun staring into her eyes, which were dark and scorching, clearly a harbinger of an impending storm.

...He wasn't done yet.

Upon realizing this, Lin Shutang's heart pounded.

She didn't understand how she had offended Shen Yun again today.

She kept thinking about what to say to him, but in the end, only a broken groan escaped her throat...

A note from the author:

----------------------

Shen Yun: My wife likes the gift I gave her [starry eyes], but she doesn't like me as a person [chin resting on hand]

Sichuan Pepper: (Probing) Perhaps you could let her go? [Let me see]

Shen Yun: Do you want to die? (Gives a sharp look)

Sichuan peppercorn: (shivering) [Shut up]

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There will be more heart-shaped emojis in the next chapter, so please post them a little earlier. The update should be tomorrow afternoon at 6 PM. If I don't update, I'll post a leave notice.

Um, I've discovered I can't talk. Talking messes up my plans. I don't know how to update anymore! [crying emoji]