Chapter 47 When do you plan to have children...?
Chapter 47
After returning to Yuquan Villa, Shen Suining was overwhelmed by an unprecedented sense of exhaustion.
She talked to He Hansheng for a while, and after watching him fall asleep, she just wanted to take a nice bath and not have any other thoughts.
Shen Suining changed her clothes and went down to the hot spring behind the bedroom. She had just stepped down two stone steps barefoot when the perfect water temperature made her pores open. She felt extremely comfortable and submerged her whole body in the water.
The hot spring is built against the cliff. For safety, there are huge rocks on both sides for protection. Only the best spot in the middle is left open. Shen Suining likes this place the most. Whenever she has something on her mind, she will rest her chin on her hand and lean against the rock wall to daydream. The water in the hot spring overflows and the surroundings are filled with mist, like a fairyland.
When He Hansheng arrived, Shen Suining was still in the same spot. She was leaning against the stone wall, her entire face submerged in the water, bubbles rising to her face. She exhaled completely underwater before surfacing, letting out a long, satisfying sigh, as if she had released all the fatigue from her body.
Noticing someone approaching from behind, Shen Suining turned around and met He Hansheng's gaze through the misty fog. Her cheeks immediately flushed red.
Even though the two had already consummated their marriage, both times it happened in the dark with He Hansheng's eyes covered. But now it was daytime, and she was completely naked in front of He Hansheng, who was fully clothed. Even with her thick skin, Shen Suining was so ashamed that she blushed completely.
"Uh, you..." Shen Suining was too embarrassed to turn around, "Didn't you go to sleep?"
He Hansheng stood still, without saying a word.
Shen Suining turned her head to look at him and noticed that his emotions were a little strange.
She steadied herself, lifted her hand out of the water, and reached out to He Hansheng, suppressing her intense shame and embarrassment as she asked, "Do you want to come down?"
He Hansheng hesitated for a moment, then made no move.
Shen Suining sighed, "What kind of pretentious act are you putting on now?"
She swam to the edge of the stone steps, where her clothes were. Seeing that He Hansheng was still motionless, Shen Suining found her belt and swung it over, the belt binding his wrist perfectly.
Shen Suining tightened her belt, and He Hansheng did not refuse. He followed her lead, walked to the edge of the hot spring, squatted down, and looked down at her.
"Are you unhappy?" Shen Suining reached out and covered his eyes so that she could talk to him more easily. "Jingyun and Jingyu won't make things difficult for you, will they? Even if my mother is angry with me, she wouldn't do something so petty."
“No one made things difficult for me,” He Hansheng said without moving an inch. “Ningning, I’m sorry to have wronged you.”
"How have I been wronged?" Shen Suining chuckled. "You really like to play riddles. I just finished dealing with my mother; I don't have the brains to guess what you're thinking."
"You don't need to guess, I just feel indebted to you. It has nothing to do with you, it's just that I haven't done enough."
Shen Suining didn't speak. She raised her other hand and gently traced the contours of He Hansheng's face with her fingertips, bringing them to his prominent collarbone. The water on her hand flowed down his neck and into his clothes.
He Hansheng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. The next moment, Shen Suining grabbed his collar and dragged him roughly into the hot spring pool.
With a "splash," water splashed up.
He Hansheng looked a little disheveled. He had just stood firm in the pool when Shen Suining pushed him against a boulder by the pool and chuckled, "Mother said we're having dinner at her place tonight, shall we go?"
"My mother-in-law's hospitality is too kind of me to refuse."
“Then you’d better be mentally prepared,” Shen Suining gently wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned close to his ear and bit his earlobe, “When I come back, my father will still be kneeling. If she’s not satisfied with you as her son-in-law, we’ll all be in trouble.”
He Hansheng reached out and hugged her back, a smile finally appearing in his eyes.
He lowered his head and kissed her lips. "I understand."
It was getting late, so the two didn't stay in the hot spring for long before going out to change their clothes and tidy up a bit.
Before leaving, Shen Suining called Meng Chun and asked, "For the inauguration banquet tomorrow, shouldn't we take the young master's clothing size?"
Meng Chun smiled and said, "Young Master, you don't need to worry. Madam has been preparing for this for a long time since she received your letter. There are just a few details that need improvement. Someone had already brought it to Young Master to try before you came back."
"Hmm, she really cares."
Shen Suining was happy. Before returning from the capital, she had written to Madam Shuyu and mentioned it briefly, but she had not received a reply to any of them. Shen Suining thought that her mother was not satisfied with the marriage.
She took He Hansheng's arm and whispered, "Won't you find it troublesome to wear the wedding dress again for the ceremony?"
He Hansheng shook his head, "I'm overjoyed."
The two walked from Yuquan Villa to Bishui Yunju, crossing mountains and valleys, which took them about half an hour to arrive.
At first, Shen Suining was fine, after all, she had recovered somewhat from soaking in the hot spring and thought she was fully recovered. But after walking only a few stone steps, she was on the verge of tears. "I've climbed this mountain path twice today, and I never thought it was this long before."
She walked slower and slower, and became more and more breathless.
He Hansheng pulled her hand to stop her, then squatted down with his back to her. "Come on up."
"Are you sure you can do it? This is a mountain road."
Shen Suining nervously climbed onto He Hansheng's shoulder. After crawling for a while and hearing that his breathing was relatively steady, she began to enjoy it without any burden.
Shen Suining couldn't help but exclaim, "You have such good stamina, no wonder you are a descendant of a legitimate military marquis. This mountain path is steep and long, my elder brother would be exhausted and cursing after walking it twice."
After walking for a while, Shen Suining clearly felt that He Hansheng's breathing was a little rapid, and quickly said, "Put me down, it's not far."
“It’s alright,” He Hansheng stopped and took a breath. “I’ll rest for a bit.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Suining immediately became happy, "Oh, so you're not indestructible after all."
“Of course, I’m just a mortal,” He Hansheng glanced at her, “besides, I have you attached to me.”
"Don't give me that. Making you carry it is a chance for you to show off, so you won't always feel indebted to me. How pretentious." Shen Suining said righteously, although she didn't feel that He Hansheng owed her anything.
In her view, her marriage with He Hansheng was like a transaction. At first, it may have been forced, but now it has become a matter of mutual consent. She doesn't care at all whether she gives more or less.
"By the way, Ningning," He Hansheng remembered something and asked her, "You just mentioned your older brother. I recall when you introduced your uncle to me, you seemed a little reluctant?"
“Shen Heyang,” Shen Suining pouted, counting on her fingers in front of him, “He’s only a few years older than me and my older brother, and he’s not related to my mother by blood. It’s just that my maternal grandfather liked him and later adopted him as his godson. When I was a child, I followed him around and called him brother for several years. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he’s a generation older than me. Of course, I’m not happy about that.”
He Hansheng chuckled.
When the two were just a few steps away from Biyueyun Residence, Shen Suining seemed to notice Madam Shuyu walking outside. She quickly patted He Hansheng's shoulder and said, "Quickly, put me down."
He Hansheng didn't understand, but he did as instructed.
As soon as Shen Suining landed steadily, Madam Shuyu and Shen Yan came out from inside.
"Stop hiding, I saw you a long time ago," Madam Shuyu said sternly, glancing at Chen Yan, and said even more irritably, "You used to run around for hours without complaining of being tired, but after having your husband, you can't even take a single step?"
"This is the last time, this is the last time," Shen Suining chuckled dryly, then leaned close to Madam Shuyu and whispered, "Can't you give me some face in front of her?"
Madam Shuyu snorted coldly and nodded to He Hansheng, "Come in."
He Hansheng and Shen Suining followed Madam Shuyu into Biyueyun Residence, where they suddenly noticed that Shen Yan was limping beside them.
Upon seeing this, Shen Suining couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Father, you didn't kneel until just now before getting up, did you?"
"..." Shen Yan's expression was indescribable.
Bishui Yunju and Yuquan Bieyuan have similar architectural styles, both built around water. However, Bishui Yunju is situated on higher ground than Yuquan Bieyuan, but the view from its windows is not as expansive.
Madam Shuyu led the group into the house, where the meal had already been served. She sat down in the main seat and said, "Please sit down. Today is a family dinner, so there aren't many formalities."
Perhaps fearing that He Hansheng would be reserved, she softened her tone and said to him, "Yunchu, you don't need to be reserved, just make yourself at home."
"Thank you, Mother-in-law."
The four sat down around the table. Madam Shuyu saw that Shen Suining was only focused on eating, so she tapped her hand with her chopsticks and frowned: "Why are you only thinking about eating by yourself? You're not even putting any food on your husband's plate."
Shen Suining: "?"
"Didn't you say that we shouldn't casually serve food to others at the dinner table?" Shen Suining asked, looking completely bewildered.
Lady Shuyu: "That's your husband, not someone else."
"..." Shen Suining was speechless and gave Shen Yan a look.
Shen Yan didn't dare to speak, pretending not to see anything. It was He Hansheng who came to the rescue: "I can do it myself, there's no need to trouble Ningning."
Madam Shuyu was quite displeased. She put down her chopsticks and said, "I don't care how you treat others, but you must be gentle and considerate towards your husband. What man in this world doesn't like a virtuous and gentle wife?"
"..." Shen Suining glanced at Shen Yan, then looked at Madam Shuyu, "Mother, I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but which of those eight words, 'gentle, considerate, virtuous, and kind,' applies to you?"
"Shen Suining!"
Madam Shuyu was furious. Seeing the situation getting out of control, Shen Yan quickly put down his chopsticks and bowl: "Ningning, what you said is wrong. Your mother is only strict because she has high hopes for you. She is usually very gentle and considerate."
“Fine, then so be it,” Shen Suining was too lazy to argue. Her father would make up any lie to please her mother. “So I’m not gentle or considerate? Does having a husband mean I can’t be myself and have to cater to his preferences?”
Lady Shuyu: "What's the use of saying that? If your husband likes you, then you can be whatever you want."
Shen Suining was stunned for a moment before realizing that Madam Shuyu was ostensibly reprimanding her, but in reality, she was pointing fingers at He Hansheng.
She was somewhat helpless and bluntly exposed him, "Mother, it's just talk. You're asking someone to express their opinion on this kind of thing at the dinner table. Even if he can say it, can you trust him?"
Madam Shuyu was furious. "I'm just reminding you! Now that you're married, you should behave yourself and stop throwing tantrums all the time. Your father and I may spoil you, but others won't!"
"Okay, okay, I know, please eat more." Shen Suining had a headache and gave a few perfunctory replies.
The mother and daughter finally calmed down, and taking advantage of the air raid, Shen Suining quickly drank some soup to moisten her throat.
"By the way," Madam Shuyu glanced at her and suddenly asked, "When are you planning to have children?"
"cough--"
Shen Suining choked half to death from the suddenness of the attack, and He Hansheng quickly helped her catch her breath, replying, "This matter is not urgent."
“Aren’t you in a hurry? You two are not young anymore. When your father-in-law was your age, Ningning was already running around,” Madam Shuyu frowned. After Shen Suining finally caught her breath, she continued, “Ningning is flamboyant and unruly, and too spoiled. You and your mother probably can’t control her. It would be better to have a child sooner rather than later, so that she can be more well-behaved.”
“Ningning has a very good temperament. My mother and I both like her very much. We don’t think she’s spoiled, and we’ve never thought of restricting her in any way,” He Hansheng withdrew his hand and looked at Madam Shuyu solemnly. “We don’t have any plans for the child for the time being. In the future, it will all depend on Ningning’s wishes. If she doesn’t want it, I won’t use the child to tie her down.”
"As long as Ningning wants it, she will always be free."
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