The family welcomes a new member, bringing joy and happiness.
After Shen Nianqing and Li Yanran got married, the couple lived in harmony and treated each other with utmost respect. Yanran was not only gentle and virtuous, but also intelligent and capable. She respected her parents-in-law and got along well with the servants. She managed the affairs of the Shen family in an orderly manner. Even Shen Qingci and his wife often sighed that it was Nianqing's good fortune and the Shen family's blessing to have such a daughter-in-law.
A year after their marriage, Li Yanran gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The child was exquisitely beautiful, with a loud cry, and his features even hinted at the handsome and refined air of Shen Qingci in his youth. The entire Shen household was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, filled with jubilation. Shen Qingci and Su Yunqing were overjoyed and, after much deliberation, named their grandson "Shen Chengyou"—hoping he would inherit the Shen family's generations of loyalty and honor, protect the family's peace and prosperity, and become a pillar of the nation who would safeguard the people.
Chengyou's arrival brought boundless vitality to the Shen family. Every day after court, Shen Qingci's first task was to rush to the nursery, carefully pick up his grandson, and gently stroke his little face with his calloused hands, his eyes filled with an unprecedented tenderness. Su Yunqing personally cared for Yanran during her postpartum period, preparing nourishing soups daily. In her spare time, she taught her grandson to identify flowers and birds and sang nursery rhymes. The nursery was often filled with the joyful laughter of the three of them. Shen Nianqing, in addition to his official duties, always loved to stay by his wife and child's side, clumsily but earnestly learning to hold the baby and change diapers. Watching his son sleep soundly, his face was full of the tenderness and responsibility of a father.
On the day Chengyou turned one month old, the Shen family held a grand full-moon banquet. Colleagues from the court and relatives from prominent families came to offer their congratulations. Even the emperor specially dispatched an eunuch to deliver a congratulatory gift—a longevity lock inlaid with rubies and a plaque with the four characters "Lin Zhi Cheng Xiang" (meaning "Auspiciousness Abounds") personally inscribed by the emperor, which showed how much he valued the Shen family.
At the banquet, guests surrounded the infant Shen Chengyou, praising his handsome features and bright spirit. Shen Qingci, dressed in a brocade robe and holding a wine cup, gazed at the guests filling the courtyard, then looked at Su Yunqing beside him, their eyes meeting in a smile, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He recalled the hardships he and Yunqing had endured in Ningguta, weathering the storms of the imperial court, and now, with peace and prosperity in the country and their children and grandchildren around them, all the hardships had transformed into this perfect moment.
Su Yunqing seemed to see through his thoughts, gently taking his hand in hers, her fingertips warm. "Brother Qingci," she said with a smile in her eyes, her voice gentle yet firm, "we've finally overcome our hardships."
Shen Qingci gripped her hand tightly in return, his gaze sweeping over his spirited son, his gentle, smiling daughter-in-law, and his grandson surrounded by others. His heart was filled with contentment and peace. "Yes," he responded softly, his tone carrying the serenity that comes with age, "all of this is inseparable from your unwavering companionship and support. With you by my side, the Shen family is what it is today, and we enjoy the most perfect family happiness in the world."
Amidst the joyful laughter filling the courtyard, the aroma of wine mingled with the fragrance of flowers, reflecting the smiles in the eyes of the Shen family, creating a magnificent scene of national peace and prosperity and family harmony.
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