Chapter 5: Father's Double Standards
The atmosphere in the main hall instantly plummeted to freezing point with a roar from Prime Minister Jiang Zhan.
Jiang Zhan strode up to the group, his usually shrewd yet murky eyes widening like copper bells as he stared intently at... Jiang Mianmian, who was wiping away tears.
As for his wife, Liu, who was standing next to him with her face covered in bird's nest soup stains, looking disheveled and clearly more "injured," he completely ignored her.
"Mianmian! My son!"
Jiang Zhan shoved Liu aside, grabbed Jiang Mianmian's shoulders anxiously, and looked her up and down. "Why are you crying like this? Have you been wronged? Who bullied you? Tell your father, and I'll stand up for you! Was it that Shen Jin—"
He realized halfway through his sentence that the person in question was sitting right next to him, so he swallowed the words "Living Yama" and changed his words to, "Is it because you're not used to living in the Prince's mansion?"
Jiang Mianmian sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes again.
[Dad! You're finally here! If you were any later, I would have cried all my eye drops! Quick, quick, use your special talent to give your wife a good scolding! I've disliked her for years!]
On the surface, however, she appeared sensible and forbearing, gently shaking her head: "Father, it's not Mother's fault, it's all my fault. Mother was serving me bird's nest soup, but I was clumsy and couldn't catch it, instead spilling it all over Mother's face... I deserve to die, I've dirtied Mother's new clothes..."
Upon hearing this, Liu was so angry that she trembled all over.
What do you mean by "clumsy and couldn't catch it"? It was clearly spilled on purpose!
She covered her burning face and rushed to complain, "Master! Don't listen to her nonsense! It was this girl—"
"shut up!"
Jiang Zhan suddenly turned his head and shouted, startling Liu so much that she almost knelt down.
"How dare you say that?!"
Jiang Zhan pointed at Liu's nose, spitting as he spoke, "Mianmian has only been married for a few days? She finally gets to come back to her parents' home, and you make her cry? What kind of mother are you?!"
Liu was so aggrieved that tears streamed down her face: "Master! Look at my face! She poured scalding hot bird's nest on me! I'm burned, and instead of asking if I'm in pain, you blame me for making her cry?"
Jiang Mianmian huddled behind Jiang Zhan, like a frightened little quail.
[Oh dear, listen to this scathing talk. Weren't you so arrogant just now? Burns? Serves you right! You asked for it! Who told you to try and ambush me with high-temperature bird's nest? This is called giving them a taste of their own medicine! Dad, don't believe her, deal with her!]
Shen Jin sat beside her, slowly sipping his tea, listening to Jiang Mianmian's inward gloating, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
The Jiang family is indeed interesting.
Jiang Zhan glanced at the red mark on Liu's face, his brows furrowing even more, but his tone becoming even more self-righteous:
"A burn? How old are you? You can't even hold a bowl of bird's nest soup properly? You need Mianmian to clean it for you? Mianmian is so frail, what if she gets scalded by the steam? What if she gets choked by the powder on your face?!"
The entire room fell silent.
Even Shen Jin's hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly.
Is it the heat? Is the powder on your face making you choke?
What kind of logic is this? Is this what they call "ignoring the facts"?
Jiang Mianmian felt like kneeling down to her father in her heart.
[Holy crap! Dad's awesome! Dad's so cool! I give this logic full marks! Even though it's completely illogical, why does it sound so good to me? Is this what it feels like to be favored? Awesome! So awesome!]
[Aunt Liu, did you see that? This is called double standards! This is called protecting one's own! In the Jiang family, I, Jiang Mianmian, am the truth! You can only shut up and take the scolding!]
Liu was stunned by the scolding, her mouth agape, unable to utter a word for a long time. She had been married to Jiang Zhan for over a decade, and although she knew he doted on his daughter, she never imagined it would extend to the point of her being unable to distinguish right from wrong!
"What are you still standing there for?" Jiang Zhan waved his hand impatiently. "What kind of appearance do you have with that painted face? Get down there and clean yourself up! Don't scare Mianmian and the Prince!"
Liu was so angry she almost fainted.
She's the victim!
But under Jiang Zhan's murderous gaze, she could only swallow her anger and give a resentful curtsy: "Yes... this concubine takes her leave."
Before leaving, she gave Jiang Mianmian a venomous look.
Jiang Mianmian returned her an extremely innocent yet somewhat provocative look.
Goodbye! Take care! Remember to apply plenty of cucumber slices, otherwise it might leave scars!
Once the people who were bothering him were gone, Jiang Zhan's expression instantly underwent a complete 180-degree turn.
He carefully helped Jiang Mianmian sit down, his movements as gentle as if he were touching a fragile piece of porcelain.
"Mianmian, how are you? Were you scared? Does your hand hurt? Did you hurt your nails when you were wiping that woman's face?"
Shen Jin: "..."
[Dad, your focus is certainly unique. But I like it! I've decided that even in the apocalypse I've never been this filial; I will definitely take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days!]
"Don't worry, Father, I'm fine," Jiang Mianmian replied obediently, and poured Jiang Zhan a cup of tea. "Father, have some tea and calm down."
Jiang Zhan accepted the tea, his eyes welling with tears of emotion: "My daughter is so thoughtful. Unlike that Jiang Li, who spends all his time dissecting corpses at the Dali Temple, that unfilial son..."
Jiang Mianmian's heart skipped a beat when her brother Jiang Li was mentioned.
That was the biggest perverted sister complex in the whole book, and also the person she was most afraid of having her true identity exposed.
At this moment, Jiang Zhan finally remembered that there was a large Buddha statue sitting next to him.
He turned around to face Shen Jinshi, instantly switching into the mode of the powerful prime minister, only his tone carried a hint of scrutiny and admonishment as a father-in-law:
"Your Highness."
Jiang Zhan cupped his hands in a respectful but not servile manner, saying, "My daughter has been spoiled since childhood and doesn't know proper etiquette. If she has done anything wrong in the Prince's residence, I beg Your Highness... to be lenient. If you cannot be lenient..."
He paused, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone was firm. "Then send her back. I, Jiang Zhan, can support my daughter for the rest of her life."
That's quite a blunt statement.
In Dagan, sending a married woman back to her parents' home is a great disgrace. But what Jiang Zhan meant was: If you dare to bully her, I'll bring her back and I'm not going to live with you anymore!
Shen Jin looked at the protective old man in front of him, and listened to Jiang Mianmian's inner cheers:
Listen to this! Listen to this! Now that's what a real dad does! "I can support you for life"—that's the most beautiful love confession in the world! Shen Jin, if you dare mistreat me, I'll run away with my baby... oh wait, no baby, I'll run back to my parents' house with all my money and mooch off them!
Shen Jin put down his teacup, his expression calm, yet carrying an undeniable promise:
"Father-in-law, rest assured. Now that Mianmian has entered the Regent's Palace, she is my queen. As long as I am here, no one can bully her."
He emphasized the words "nobody," his eyes glancing almost imperceptibly toward the door—the direction from which he had just been kicked out.
Jiang Zhan was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the cold-faced prince to say such a thing.
He carefully examined Shen Jin and, seeing that his expression did not seem feigned, nodded in satisfaction: "Very good."
“Oh, right,” Jiang Zhan seemed to suddenly remember something, and pulled out a thick stack of silver notes from his pocket, stuffing them into Jiang Mianmian’s hand. “Mianmian, this is pocket money that your father prepared for you. Although the Prince’s Mansion is wealthy, you won’t be anxious if you have money in your hands. Don’t be stingy with what you want to eat or buy. If you don’t have enough, just ask your father for more.”
Jiang Mianmian looked at the thick stack of silver notes in her hand, all of which were worth two taels of silver, and her eyes instantly turned into the shape of "￥".
[Holy crap! A rich kid! I really am a rich kid! This dad's got guts, he really knows how to give money! This stack of cash must be tens of thousands of taels, right? How many sesame cakes could I buy? How many hot pot restaurants could I open?]
【Chen Jin, did you see that? This is my confidence! If you dare to cut off my meals from now on, I'll order takeout myself!】
Shen Jin looked at her money-grubbing appearance and found it amusing.
This woman, who just moments ago treated money like dirt, now has her eyes widen at the sight of banknotes.
"Alright, I have official business to attend to, so I won't keep you company any longer." Jiang Zhan patted Jiang Mianmian's hand. "We'll have lunch at the manor. I've had your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs made."
"Thank you, Dad!" Jiang Mianmian said this sincerely.
After Jiang Zhan left, only the two of them remained in the main hall.
Jiang Mianmian quickly stuffed the silver note into her bosom (actually, she put it into her personal space, but Shen Jin thought it was just stuffed into her sleeve), and then resumed her dignified and quiet demeanor.
“Your Highness,” she smiled shyly, “I’m sorry you had to see this. My father… spoils you a little too much.”
Shen Jin glanced at her bulging cuffs but didn't expose her spatial trick. He simply said:
"Indeed... 'some'."
He stood up, walked up to her, and looked down at the woman who had just been thinking to herself that she wanted to "leech off her parents."
"However, the princess just said, if I mistreat you, what will you do?"
Jiang Mianmian's heart tightened.
[Holy crap? That jerk heard me? No way, that was what I was thinking... Oh, did I just mutter it out loud? No, right?]
She blinked, looking completely innocent: "This humble servant... this humble servant will naturally follow the prince wherever he goes... oh no, I mean, I'm married to the prince, I belong to the prince in life and in death."
[Hmph, if you dare mistreat me, I'll give you laxatives! I'll make you question the meaning of life!]
Shen Jin's face darkened for a moment.
"Marry a dog, follow the dog"? (Is it a form of laxatives?)
It seems that the "loving couple" facade they put on in front of Jiang Zhan was all an act.
"Your Highness had better remember what you said."
Shen Jin snorted coldly, "Let's go for a stroll in the garden. Your mother-in-law's face has been 'burned' by you, and as the younger generation, we should at least 'care' for her."
He deliberately emphasized the word "concern".
Jiang Mianmian understood immediately.
[Huh? This jerk's taking me to beat a dog when it's down? Not bad, not bad, I like this kind of twisted humor! Looks like Shen Jin isn't so bad after all, at least we have something in common when it comes to being infuriating.]
Let's go see what Aunt Liu looks like now, it must be quite a sight!
The two exchanged a glance, and a strange tacit understanding arose between them.
It's like two villains who are about to team up to cause trouble.
The midday sun cast long shadows on the two of them. No one could have imagined that this couple, who should have been estranged, would at this moment form a strange "villainous alliance."
Of course, this is on the premise that Jiang Mianmian is unaware that Shen Jin is reading minds, while Shen Jin... is trying his best not to burst out laughing.
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