Chapter 8 Was the marriage between Sister-in-law and Second Brother arranged by fate...?

Shen Yun stepped out from behind, her voice icy, "If you fail to take good care of Madam, I'll gouge out your useless eyes."

"Yes! This servant will remember."

Qingdai knelt down on the ground with a "plop," her whole body trembling like a leaf.

Lin Shutang couldn't possibly be unaware of who Shen Yun was trying to warn.

She deliberately left Qingdai behind at the banquet, instructing her not to follow.

He's been punished by Shen Yun right now.

Lin Shutang no longer wanted to even look at Shen Yun.

She stormed off, her skirt billowing in the wind.

-

A banquet is meant to be a joyous occasion.

In the time that was wasted, the banquet was almost over.

At present, the women and ladies are all strolling around the Duke's mansion together.

They also took this opportunity to find a match for their own children.

Lin Shutang returned to Jingyuan Residence with a dark expression. As soon as he sat down on the couch, someone brought him a bowl of medicinal soup.

"lady."

"What is this?" Lin Shutang frowned.

"It was the young master who ordered this hangover soup to be made, and instructed me to make sure that Madam finishes it." The maid put down the jade bowl and said softly, showing no intention of leaving.

He could smell it.

Are you born in the Year of the Dog?

Lin Shutang looked at the bowl of soup, which had already cooled down, and knew that the excuse that it had gone cold would not work.

He had no choice but to pick up the bowl and drink it down.

After the maid left with the empty bowl, Lin Shutang hurriedly took out the thing from her wrist.

As expected, it was a white jade seal.

The walls are covered with dense Buddhist scriptures.

Lin Shutang examined the seal from all angles, even rubbing and pressing along the inscriptions on it, but found no hidden mechanism.

No matter how you look at it, it is indeed just an ordinary seal.

Lin Shutang was puzzled. What was the purpose of the seal that Senior Brother Song Ying had given him?

"Madam, the Fourth Miss requests an audience." Qingdai's voice rang out from behind the mural screen, inquiring about Lin Shutang's intentions.

Lin Shutang put the white jade seal into the drawer and said calmly, "Please invite her in."

The fourth young lady that Qingdai mentioned is the daughter of the second master of the Duke's mansion, the legitimate daughter of the second wife, and the fourth daughter in the family.

As soon as she entered the house, Shen Zhixi ran towards Lin Shutang, "I'm so glad I finally have time to see my sister-in-law today."

“After my sister-in-law gave birth, my second brother forbade anyone to visit her. Is my sister-in-law feeling any better now? I heard that women often feel depressed after giving birth, so I couldn’t come to see her. Please don’t blame me.”

Shen Zhixi stepped forward, took Lin Shutang's hand and shook it, a hint of guilt floating in the girl's bright eyes.

Lin Shutang smiled and scolded her for being cheeky.

How could she blame her? During that time, she didn't want to see anyone. It was fine that Shen Yun used her illness as an excuse to not allow anyone to visit her.

Otherwise, she might take her anger out on others.

This villain is perfect to be assigned to Shen Yun.

During the three years she spent in the Shen family mansion, Lin Shutang was confined to Jingyuan Residence. Apart from the people in the courtyard and Shen Yun, she rarely saw anyone else.

Only Shen Zhixi accidentally crawled through a dog hole under a wall in the side courtyard of Jingyuan Residence that year. The twelve-year-old girl was innocent and romantic, and she played with her and even shared candy with her.

This became the only source of joy in Lin Shutang's aimless life.

Later, for some reason, Shen Zhixi stopped crawling through the dog hole and started coming in openly through the front door. Shen Yun seemed to know nothing about this, and Lin Shutang didn't ask any further questions.

"There are many women your age in the front yard today. Why didn't you go and play with them? It's a wonder you have the leisure to stay here with me." Lin Shutang picked up the teapot on the coffee table and poured hot tea for Shen Zhixi.

"Sister-in-law, I think I'll come here to find some peace and quiet. The front yard isn't a celebration for the grandson's 100-day celebration right now; it's clearly a matchmaking event." Shen Zhixi continued to gulp down her hot tea, which was now so hot that she couldn't finish it, and complained while holding the cup.

"I've now passed my coming-of-age ceremony, and seeing the commotion my third sister went through last year, I got scared. I quickly ran away before my mother could grab me."

"You can't hide forever. It's better to go and find a partner yourself. Otherwise, if your mother handles everything, it might really be an arranged marriage. You'll be crying your eyes out then."

"Sister-in-law, don't scare me." Shen Zhixi immediately put down her teacup, her eyes wide open. The smug look she had just had on her clever trick disappeared, as if she could already see her hopeless married life ahead.

Lin Shutang raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"So, sister-in-law, were you and my second brother arranged to marry without our knowledge or consent?"

Shen Zhixi's thoughts jumped around quickly, and she immediately brought up Lin Shutang again.

Lin Shutang paused in his tea-pouring, then looked up at her.

Shen Zhixi's eyes were filled with longing, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards, revealing two deep dimples on her cheeks. "If it were like my sister-in-law and second brother, I think that would be great."

The year Lin Shutang came to Yujing was a time of turmoil and chaos.

The court was embroiled in endless factional strife, and the spies planted by the Western Yue in Yujing were everywhere, killing anyone they encountered on the streets.

The smoke of battle almost covered the gilded eaves of the royal palaces, and panic gripped the entire capital city.

Shen Yun settled her in a separate courtyard in Jinqi Lane in the north of the city and ordered people to keep a close watch on her.

Two years later, after Shen Yun had dealt with foreign invaders and quelled internal strife, he finally issued an imperial edict to marry her and bring her into his household.

To outsiders, no one would have imagined that Shen Yun, who was about to become a close advisor to the emperor, would use his numerous military achievements to marry a woman from an unknown and impoverished place in Qingzhou.

Having come this far, he is now content to hold only the lowly position of a guard general.

Although people in the neighborhood looked down on Lin Shutang's status, there was no shortage of envy among them.

The story of the deep love between the Crown Prince and his wife is still told to this day.

Therefore, Shen Yun can be considered the best choice for a husband among the young ladies of Yujing City.

But only Lin Shutang knew the torment she endured day and night in the villa.

And how did Shen Yun force her to marry him?

They never fought to the death, so how can there be any talk of a deep and loving relationship between them?

However, when these things happened, Shen Zhixi was only ten years old, so the adults in the mansion naturally wouldn't tell her about them.

Therefore, after witnessing firsthand the meticulous care her second brother showed to his sister-in-law, and considering the rumors circulating in the neighborhood, Shen Zhixi couldn't help but feel envious.

Lin Shutang chuckled awkwardly and said nothing more.

She was also unwilling to shatter a young girl's fantasies about marriage.

But Shen Zhixi seemed unwilling to let her go, and once the topic came up, she got excited and kept talking, "Sister-in-law, when you were my age, did you ever imagine what your future husband would be like?"

Does he resemble his second brother?

Do they look alike?

Absolutely worlds apart!

Lin Shutang recalled that when he first met Shen Yun, he genuinely thought he was some kind of ethereal and virtuous immortal.

Who could have imagined that such a person would become the nightmare of the rest of her life?

Lin Shutang's fingers tightened around the teacup as memories flashed through her mind, and the palpitations she had just tried to calm down in front of Shen Yun seemed to surge up again.

She would always tremble involuntarily when Shen Yun was mentioned.

"Oh, by the way, I saw the Construction Manager here today as well."

Shen Zhixi, being a young lady, was quick-witted and hadn't even received Lin Shutang's reply yet, so she excitedly brought up another matter.

Lin Shutang's head-shaking motion stopped halfway. He was somewhat distracted by Shen Zhixi, and upon hearing the term "Yingshan Lang," his heart began to beat even faster.

"What's wrong?" Lin Shutang asked, trying to remain calm.

“Sister-in-law, you don’t like going out, so you probably don’t know that this Construction Manager has been making quite a splash in the capital lately. Because he has gained the Emperor’s favor, now even a piece of his woodenware is worth a fortune.” Shen Zhixi’s eyes sparkled, and she lowered her head shyly. “I want to see what gift the Construction Manager gave to Xiao Ayan. I want to take a look.”

"Those things are probably being checked and put into storage right now. Qingdai, why don't you go and look for them?" Lin Shutang thought for a moment and then instructed Qingdai, who was standing guard beside him.

Upon hearing this, Qingdai looked troubled, took a step forward, and whispered in a barely audible voice, "The Imperial Workshop Manager sent over a sandalwood elephant."

"It... The young master ordered me to burn it."

"ah?"

Shen Zhixi was the first to be shocked, then looked at Lin Shutang with some confusion, "Sister-in-law, what does Second Brother mean by this? Doesn't he like the position of Construction Officer?"

Lin Shutang waved his hand, telling Qingdai to leave.

"Ignore him, he has a brain condition."

Lin Shutang said somewhat irritably. Just as she finished speaking, she noticed a figure moving in the corner of her eye, followed by footsteps coming from outside the screen.

Lin Shutang's alarm went off, and when he turned around, he saw Shen Yun walking out from behind the landscape screen.

He swept his gaze across her with indifference.

The moment their eyes met, Lin Shutang was the first to guiltily look away.

It wasn't just because she was cursing people behind their backs, but also because of what she had just said to Shen Zhixi.

It's unclear how long Shen Yun stood there or how much she heard.

"Second brother, you're back so early." Shen Zhixi immediately stood up.

Shen Zhixi was terrified of her second brother.

Shen Yun's mere presence, without uttering a word, exudes a chilling aura that can make it difficult for anyone to breathe.

Shen Zhixi instinctively felt that the air inside the room was much thinner.

"Sister-in-law, I'll come see you again next time." Shen Zhixi curtsied briefly and then ran away.

They disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Lin Shutang: "..."

Noticing Shen Yun's gaze on her, Lin Shutang decided to pretend nothing had happened. She turned her head away, looking out the window, silently resisting Shen Yun with the back of her head.

They didn't ask Shen Yun why she suddenly came back.

After all, the Emperor in the front courtyard is still alive.

Shen Yun seemed to have just come back to get something. He did not demand a response from Lin Shutang for deliberately ignoring him.

His indifferent face showed no extra emotion, and Lin Shutang breathed a sigh of relief; perhaps he really hadn't heard anything.

While Shen Yun was walking into the inner room, Lin Shutang secretly turned his head to glance at Shen Yun.

By sheer coincidence, I saw Shen Yun walk toward the cabinet where she had casually put the seal earlier!

"What are you doing!" Lin Shutang shouted at his back, her feet moving without stopping as she ran towards Shen Yun.

Before he could reach out, they blocked the counter.

Shen Yun tilted her head slightly to look at her, without saying a word, her scrutinizing gaze washing over Lin Shutang from head to toe.

Only then did Lin Shutang realize how easily frightened she had acted.

"What are you looking for?" Lin Shutang shifted uncomfortably to the side, guarding the second drawer behind her.

As long as Shen Yun doesn't open this layer, it's fine.

Shen Yun raised an eyebrow, looked down at her, and obediently replied, "Sixth Brother has been asking me for that Duan inkstone for a long time, and I was thinking of giving it to him today."

Lin Shutang nodded, pondering where to put the Duan inkstone.

Finally, she looked up at Shen Yun with some confusion, "Shouldn't the inkstone be placed in your study?"

"Oh," Shen Yun replied softly, her tone indifferent, as if she hadn't taken it seriously. "I forgot."

Looking at his expression, Lin Shutang belatedly realized that he was bluffing her again.

"Shen Yun, have you had enough fun?" Lin Shutang's expression turned ugly again.

"But only in this way will you pay attention to me, right?"

Shen Yun didn't seem to think she had done anything wrong, and acted as if it were perfectly natural.

He stepped forward, trapping Lin Shutang between the counter and himself.

The towering shadow instantly enveloped Lin Shutang, and his breath was filled with the cool pine scent emanating from Shen Yun.

A note from the author:

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Q: What should I do if my wife is ignoring me?

Shen Yun: Then let's feint and scare her.

Sichuan pepper: (stroking his chin) (thinking) No wonder you have a wife.

Shen Yun: (Smiling)

Sichuan peppercorns: I just don't know how much longer I can be your wife... -- Pancake! It's pretty delicious. (Cowardly)

Shen Yun: (Withdraws her glare) (Strides away)

Sichuan pepper: (Having survived a calamity) (Letting out a long sigh of relief)