Chapter 194 [VIP]

Wang Ying was still worried, since her fourth uncle and aunt weren't around, and as their sister-in-law, she should help look after them.

"We're all family, why can't we say what's good about it? Why are you being so hesitant?"

Chen Qinghuai sighed and said, "A few days ago, my mother wrote back, asking us... why we still don't have a child... and telling us to hurry up and see a doctor so as not to delay."

Chen Qingyan said, "What Fourth Aunt is saying is important."

"But Yanqing cried after reading the letter and told me to divorce her..."

"Why would you divorce her for no reason?" Wang Ying asked in surprise.

"Who knew, I tried to persuade her a few times but she wouldn't listen. She said my mother looked down on her. A few days ago she was making a fuss about going back to Laizhou but I managed to stop her. She's still angry now."

Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan exchanged a glance. There was nothing they could do; after all, it was their second brother's family matter, and it wasn't appropriate for them to interfere.

"Why don't you write a letter to your in-laws first and let them know?"

Chen Qinghuai said, "That's what I thought too. I sent the letter yesterday, hoping that my father-in-law and mother-in-law can persuade her. Otherwise, I don't know what to do."

Every family has its own troubles. Bai is an only child and has been spoiled by her family since childhood. Her personality is different from that of ordinary daughters. She cannot tolerate the slightest grievance. Now Chen Qinghuai is also in a difficult situation.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. After the imperial examinations, the Hanlin Academy is also preparing for reassignments. Have you decided which department you want to go to, brother?"

"Both the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue are fine, but I can't choose. Lord Liu once gave me some advice: wherever I'm transferred to, it's a kind of experience. If I keep a calm mindset, I can make something of myself."

"Hmm! I'm thinking it might be better to go out and gain some experience."

"You want to be transferred to another post?"

Chen Qinghuai nodded, "It would take at least twenty years to gain seniority in the capital before one can enter the court. If one goes out to gain experience for a few years, one might be able to enter the fifth rank in less than ten years."

"That's not a good idea. Once they go out, it might be difficult for them to come back!"

Chen Qinghuai scratched his head. "Actually, I don't have the same obsession as my father. It's quite nice to be an official outside the capital. There are not so many restrictions. Although the capital is nice, you have to be careful in everything you do, for fear of accidentally offending your colleagues or angering your superiors."

That's the truth. "Never mind, we'll talk about it later. Let's eat first."

*

After finishing his meal, Chen Qinghuai returned home and walked towards his bedroom. When he was almost at the door, he paused and turned to go to the study next door.

Going in would inevitably lead to another argument, and he also had to get up early for his shift tomorrow; he simply didn't have the energy to deal with it.

Actually, Chen Qinghuai initially liked Bai Shi quite a bit, thinking that their married life would be as harmonious as that of his elder brother and sister-in-law.

However, ever since they got married, their relationship has been lukewarm. He always treated her coldly, and over time, the warmth in his heart dissipated.

The reason they haven't had children for so long is that they only have sex two or three days a month at most. Sometimes, when Bai Yanqing is menstruating, they are so reserved that they don't even touch each other.

Not long after, Chen Qinghuai's letter arrived at the Bai family. Upon receiving the letter, Bai's mother was extremely anxious. She had married her daughter off because she was afraid that she would be mistreated. She was so far away that she couldn't even see her daughter. Now, the Chen family was starting to look down on their daughter!

"I told you before that I wouldn't marry into the family and that I wanted to find a husband for Yanqing to stay at home and inherit the family business, but you insisted on not agreeing. Now, after three years of marriage, she still hasn't conceived. Your in-laws must have written a letter scolding our daughter!"

"Impossible. My mother-in-law isn't that kind of person. Yanqing is probably just overthinking it."

"You don't care about your own daughter, yet you expect others to care about her?"

Dean Bai pinched his brow and said, "You know Yanqing's temper. She's not the type to take a beating. You've spoiled her too much all these years."

"Then I'll go to Kyoto and bring Qing'er back."

"Don't answer! Do you really want Yanqing to divorce me?"

"Let's get a divorce then. Can't we live without the Chen family?"

"You, you, you..." The white-haired father's beard trembled, his chest aching with anger at her.

Bai's mother quickly brought him a teacup, helped him drink the tea, and said, "If you don't want to accept it, then don't accept it. Don't get angry."

"A doting mother spoils her son!" Father Bai slapped the teacup out of her hand and scolded, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You want to bring your nephew into our family to marry into our family and seize our Bai family's property."

"What are you saying, sir? Changshan is an honest and upright boy whom you watched grow up. He and Yanqing are childhood sweethearts."

"Give up on that idea! If I hadn't overheard him talking to someone in the restaurant about how he would send this old codger away after inheriting the Bai family business, I wouldn't have known you were plotting this!"

Madam Bai's face turned pale. "How...how could this be..."

"If you keep thinking about this, you might as well go home. The Bai family can't tolerate someone who betrays us!"

"Master! Are you divorcing me?"

Madam Bai covered her face and burst into tears: "I have been married into your Bai family for twenty years. Over the years, I have managed all the affairs of the household. Even if I have not made any great contributions, I have certainly worked hard. How can you divorce me?"

Father Bai retorted, "You've been helping your maternal family openly and secretly, have I ever said a word about it? When you gave birth to Yanqing, you had a difficult childbirth and damaged your health. The doctor said it might be difficult for you to have any more children. When Mother asked me to take a concubine, I refused outright. Have I neglected you in the slightest all these years?"

Madam Bai dared not speak, only wiping away her tears and shaking her head.

"Why are you so insistent on marrying Yanqing and Li to your good-for-nothing nephew? What's wrong with Qinghuai? He's a talented young man who passed the imperial examinations twice! His in-laws are even a fourth-rank prefect. A family like that is worthy of a princess, so why wouldn't they be worthy of your pampered daughter?"

Madam Bai then realized that she had been bewitched, always thinking that once her daughter got married, the family business would probably be taken over by someone else.

Looking back now, even if my daughter brought a husband back to live with her family, there would be nothing they could do if he treated her badly after I passed away. In the end, the family business would still fall into the hands of someone from another family.

“Master, I know I was wrong… Lin Changshan approached me several times before, saying that if I could marry into our family, he would treat us like his own parents. I never expected him to be such a two-faced person. If I had known he was so heartless, I would definitely not have agreed!”

Father Bai sighed, “No one needs to covet the Bai family’s property. I have already made a will in advance. After I die, half will go to Yanqing, and the rest will be given to the clan to develop the academy. No one else can take even a penny.”

Seeing this, Madam Bai understood immediately. She wiped away her tears and said, "I was too attached to things before. I only thought about keeping my daughter by my side and didn't think too much about it. I will send someone to talk to my family. I will go to the capital in person tomorrow to make sure Yanqing and her husband live a good life."

"That's only right. She's such a grown woman. If she doesn't change her temper, no one will tolerate her in the future! This time, you go and persuade her not to be so childish. If she doesn't listen, then take her back to become a nun, so she won't cause trouble for others!"

Madam Bai covered her face and started crying again. She never expected that her husband would get so angry and say he would divorce her, completely disregarding their twenty years of marriage.

However, I was indeed at fault in this matter, and I can only blame myself for misjudging the situation.

The following day, Madam Bai set off for Kyoto.

After several days of travel, he arrived at the Chen family home and saw that his daughter was sullen all day. He pulled her aside and asked her what was wrong. "I remember you and your husband got along very well when you got married. How did things come to this?"

"I think Qinghuai doesn't like me, and he probably already has someone else in his heart."

Upon hearing this, Bai's mother was shocked. "What proof do you have? When we were engaged, my in-laws repeatedly assured me that the Chen family had no tradition of taking concubines, which is why I agreed to the marriage. If he has someone else in his heart, it would be better to divorce him as soon as possible!"

“I…I have no evidence, but since we got married, he…he has slept with me only a handful of times…My mother-in-law wrote that I can’t have children, how can you blame me for that?” Bai Yanqing cried, feeling wronged.

"Tell me, how have you two gotten along these past few years?"

"We should treat each other with the utmost respect."

Mother Bai frowned deeply. "You wouldn't want your son-in-law to share a room with you, would you?"

Bai Yanqing blushed and said, "How can you talk about something like this?"

"Your mother asks who is managing the household affairs now?"

"It's all under Mama Huang's care. There are too many miscellaneous things in the mansion, it's too much trouble to manage them all..." Mama Huang was her dowry wet nurse and also an old servant of the Bai family.

"Have you ever cooked a meal for your son-in-law? Or mended a piece of clothing for him?"

Bai Yanqing shook her head, "Why should I do those things that servants don't do?"

“Silly girl, I think you’ve gone mad from studying too much. Husband and wife are the closest and dearest people. While he’s away on duty, you have to take good care of the home. People are all made of flesh and blood. If you treat him well, how can he not treat you well? If you don’t care about him and only think about your own reading and writing every day, he will naturally grow cold over time.”

"Then, what should we do?"

"You've only been married for three years, there's still room for things to improve. Your son-in-law is a man of good character and would never have any other women outside. But if you keep throwing tantrums, I'm afraid his heart will grow cold over time. When he actually takes a concubine, that's when you'll be crying!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yanqing buried her face in her arms and cried, "Mother, I don't want it to be like this. Let's just get a divorce..."

Madam Bai knew that she had spoiled her daughter rotten, but she couldn't indulge her anymore. She reached out and pushed her daughter away, saying, "Divorce? The Chen family has not mistreated you. If you really don't want to live together anymore, go ask Qinghuai for a divorce letter!"

"Mother?" Bai Yanqing looked at her mother in disbelief.

"Your father said that if you come back after the divorce, he'll send you to be a nun and never let you come home again. The Bai family can't afford to lose face like that!"

Bai Yanqing then truly burst into tears. Seeing her mother get up to leave, she quickly reached out and grabbed her, "Don't you and Father want me anymore?"

Madam Bai was also heartbroken. She wiped her tears with her handkerchief and said, "How could your mother abandon you? But your parents can't be with you forever! Do you still remember your cousin Changshan?"

“I remember…” Mother had mentioned before that she wanted to take him as her son-in-law.

"He only wants to marry you for our family's money. Before, I was blinded by love and always thought that your uncle's family wouldn't harm us. I never expected that he would secretly say that he would seize the Bai family's property and drive your father and me away."

"Outrageous! How dare he say such a thing?"

"So you don't need to worry about getting a divorce and going back to start your own household. It's already tough for women in this world. Even if you bring a son-in-law into the family, you might not have a good life without your parents' support." Madam Bai stroked her daughter's hair. "Listen to your mother's advice, live a good life with Qinghuai. He's a good boy and he will definitely not let you down."

Bai Yanqing finally listened and nodded in agreement.

Bai's mother stayed for a few days before returning home. However, since her departure, Bai Yanqing seemed like a different person. The first change was that she took over the household management and dealt with several corrupt servants.

Then he took the initiative to visit his sister-in-law's house to get closer to Wang Ying.

Wang Ying was a straightforward person and was especially kind to her younger siblings. Over time, the two became closer.

As they spent more time together, Bai Yanqing grew to like her husband's wife more and more.

Not only was he handsome, but he was also very shrewd in business and could even write books! This was incredibly appealing to someone who loved reading. From Wang Ying, she also learned many ways to manage a household and a few home-style dishes, which she specially cooked for Qinghuai.

The couple's relationship gradually improved, but in May, Bai Yanqing suddenly developed an nausea and vomited after eating. Chen Qinghuai quickly took her to a clinic.

Unexpectedly, it was a pregnancy test. Chen Qinghuai was so excited that he immediately sent the news to both sets of parents. The young couple's life was finally back on track.

A note from the author: