Chapter 4: Are matters of fame and fortune really that close to him?
“Shen Jun, we’re already married, and we… have a child. The past is the past, please don’t touch him again,” Lin Shutang hissed and said quickly.
"Ah Tang only just realized that we have a child together." He said as if he had just come to a sudden realization.
In a particularly sarcastic tone, she said, "Don't you hate me so much that you hate him too? You always seem to care more about others than about me and the child."
"Chen Yun, don't do this." Lin Shutang was at a loss, and she anxiously grabbed his sleeve.
Having been entangled with Shen Yun for so many years, she knew very well that Shen Yun's murderous intent was not just empty talk.
"Please, I beg you, let him go."
"Tell me, what did you talk about?" Shen Yun seemed not to hear her words, raised his hand to grab the back of her head and pulled her closer, his tone sinister.
He stared into her panicked eyes, his other hand stroking her trembling eyelashes. "Here, you cried for him?"
The fingertips moved down and landed on the red lips.
"Here, his name was called?"
His breath quickened as he moved from her chin down to her chest, and the hand holding the back of her head suddenly tightened, pulling Lin Shutang into his arms.
Tilting her head, Shen Yun's soft voice held a hidden clench of teeth, "Always like this, this close?"
“Chen Yun…” Lin Shutang murmured, feeling as if all the blood in his body was draining away.
Shen Yun persisted, "When you see your former fiancé, is A-Tang happy?"
Her face was pale with anxiety, and Lin Shutang's eyes were a little sore. She could feel Chen Yun's piercing gaze from the side of her face, and it seemed as if her breathing became tight.
The physical reaction to angering Shen Yun always comes faster and deeper than one can remember.
Lin Shutang reached out and threw the blue-faced, fanged mask beside her legs out the window. She turned her head away, feigning coldness, and said, "I don't want to see him."
Lin Shutang thought that Shen Yun should be satisfied with his actions.
She was already being very compliant with him, but then her wrist tightened, and she was pulled back into Shen Yun's arms. Before she could struggle, a fierce kiss overwhelmed her.
Shen Yun was furious, Lin Shutang could feel it. He was practically tearing at her lips, taking advantage of her cries of pain to sneak in and plunder them.
Lin Shutang pushed him away, but Shen Yun easily grabbed her and tucked her behind his back. She was forced to lift up, as if she had willingly offered herself to Shen Yun's embrace.
Before long, faint sobs and whimpers could be heard coming from inside the carriage...
The walls of the vehicle are made of a special material that is inaudible to people outside.
However, Yingxiao had practiced martial arts since childhood, so her hearing was still quite sensitive.
He immediately sat up straight and subtly moved a little further away from the car door.
Looking up at the increasingly heavy snow, he knew he wouldn't need to go out and catch anyone tonight.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped outside the gate of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
Shen Yun came down from inside, holding Lin Shutang, who was wrapped tightly in a cloak, in her arms.
His expression remained cold, but a bright red scratch appeared on his neck.
Shen Yun strode over the white marble slabs of the mansion gate, turned past the screen wall, and headed towards Jingyuan Residence.
That night, Lin Shutang was manipulated into several different positions. Although they didn't go all the way, her legs were rubbed raw and sore.
She fainted several times while crying, only to be woken up again...
The Lantern Festival has come to an end, but the festive atmosphere in the capital city still lingers.
After the snow in front of the gate was cleared, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion welcomed the grandson's 100-day celebration.
Many people wanted to take this opportunity to build connections, and had already sent people to various places to find outstanding gifts.
Inside the Duke's mansion, everyone was busy. The direct descendants of the aristocratic family were treated with utmost respect and wealth, and the banquet was so extravagant that it could only be described as lavish.
Despite the uproar outside, Jingyuan Residence remained unusually quiet.
Lin Shutang still didn't give Shen Yun a friendly look.
Even the child was left in the care of a wet nurse, and he rarely visited him.
Shen Yun stood in the warm pavilion, staring at the baby in the cradle. Over the past few months, the baby had become even more handsome and adorable.
Her dark, bright eyes always seemed to be smiling, and she would gurgle and blow bubbles from her mouth. When she saw people, her fair, pink arms would sway in the air.
The wet nurse said he wanted to be held.
When Shen Yun first held the child, he was incredibly small, almost the same size as his hand.
With a wrinkled face and bloodstains still on his body, Shen Yun could hardly believe that this was his and Lin Shutang's child.
The overwhelming sense of satisfaction and joy almost made him dizzy.
He held the child in his arms, his movements stiff and careful, as if he were holding some fragile treasure, afraid of bumping or hurting him.
But the child just wouldn't stop crying, crying fiercely and violently, while kicking his legs wildly in his hands.
Shen Yun was utterly at a loss.
Now, he can hold the baby very skillfully, and he knows how to apply force, how to make the baby comfortable, and how to soothe him from crying.
Shen Yun always learns things very quickly. No matter how difficult something is, he can handle it with ease in time. However, he has been trying to learn how to make Lin Shutang happy for many years, but he still can't seem to learn.
No matter what he gave her, it seemed that for Lin Shutang, only being away from Shen Yun was a relief.
Shen Yun knew this, of course, but it was precisely because she knew that she was even more unwilling to let go.
Shen Yun picked the child up from the cradle, and sure enough, the child's mouth widened even more, and he waved his hands to grab Shen Yun's face.
The soft, delicate hand landed right on Shen Yun's injured neck, making Shen Yun hiss in pain, and the child laughed even harder.
Shen Yun sighed. Who did this child take after, being so cheerful?
Neither he nor Lin Shutang are people who like to laugh.
—Lin Shutang never smiled at him.
I was holding the child when I suddenly heard the sound of the door being pushed open behind me.
Shen Yun turned her head and, through the fluttering, thin curtains, saw Lin Shutang standing at the door.
The other person seemed to be stunned for a moment when they saw him before realizing that the Emperor had given him leave.
Lin Shutang is leaving.
Shen Yun called out to her.
Her words were rambling and incoherent: "The Third Prince has recently had a capable person by his side, who is particularly skilled in strange and ingenious tricks. Aren't you curious about this person's background, A-Tang?"
Lin Shutang frowned, turned to look at him, and found him very strange. Was he going to chat with him about politics?
"Not curious," she replied casually, then turned to leave.
Before she could lift her foot, Shen Yun said, "The hundred-day celebration for Lin'er is just around the corner. How about I invite him to make a wooden toy for our child?"
"What do you want to say?" Lin Shutang finally stopped trying to leave and turned around to look at him.
Shen Yun lowered her eyelids, as if taking a light breath, "Let's give the child a name."
He looked up again, his eyes filled with a subtle expectation, no longer carrying the usual coldness.
Lin Shutang walked in and stared at the child in Shen Yun's arms.
Compared to Shen Yun's skillful handling of the child, Lin Shutang has never actually held the child properly even once.
She would only glance at the child before leaving, usually when no one was around. She didn't know how to face him.
Perhaps it was the bond of blood, but the child wasn't shy at all. As Lin Shutang approached, the child babbled and waved its little hands even more vigorously at Lin Shutang, as if trying to get Lin Shutang to hold it.
Lin Shutang reached out, and he grabbed her fingertips, chuckling softly, which warmed the heart of anyone who saw it.
As Shen Yun said, the child's nose and mouth do resemble hers, but his eyebrows and eyes are very much like Shen Yun's.
Lin Shutang stared at those dark, grape-like eyes, which were clearly smiling, but in a daze, she seemed to see the way Shen Yun had silently stared at her many years ago.
Like a venomous snake, it is bone-chilling, cold, and sinister.
Lin Shutang's spine stiffened unexpectedly. When she spoke, her voice was slightly hoarse, as if she had to exert a great deal of effort to utter a single word.
Shen Yun took in all of her movements.
Lin Shutang stared at the child, and he stared back at her.
After the snow cleared, the sunlight filtering through the window reflected a gentle, bright glow, casting a serene and peaceful light on the two people standing opposite each other.
It was rare for Lin Shutang to take the initiative to get so close to him. Shen Yun lowered his eyes and could even see the small brown mole on the side of her nose.
Her expression was so gentle, like an iceberg melting, but in an instant, seawater rushed in, and her face turned deathly pale.
Shen Yun spoke, bringing her back to reality, "The river is clear and the sea is calm, that sounds beautiful."
Lin Shutang looked up, her gaze shifting blankly from the child's face to Shen Yun. He was slightly turned towards the window, the light and shadow falling only on a corner of his jaw. His brows were relaxed, and he still couldn't hide his bright and gentle demeanor.
Lin Shutang suddenly felt a surge of malice.
The more pristine and flawless a flower is on a high mountain, the more she wants to trample it into the mud.
She couldn't bear to see Shen Yun looking so comfortable.
Lin Shutang spoke up, "It's the 'disdain' of 'to loathe'."
The air suddenly froze.
Shen Yun's expression visibly changed, the smile in his eyes gradually faded, and he looked at Lin Shutang with an almost icy gaze.
Lin Shutang also looked back defiantly.
Shen Yun approached, and the soft light that fell on his face gradually descended, illuminating his jawline, neck, and shoulders.
With his face completely hidden in shadow, Shen Yun smiled politely, but his tone was sinister, "A-Tang, say it again, which banquet was it?"
“Disdain, loathing, aversion,” Lin Shutang said, enunciating each word clearly.
In the silent standoff, Shen Yun looked at her current appearance, which was so similar to that of three years ago.
Stubborn, resilient, and sharp.
Despite being terrified and trembling all over, he stubbornly defiantly defied him, as if he were courting death.
It took Shen Yun a long time to smooth out her rough edges and crush her hopes.
Everything was clearly going well, and they had already achieved a state of mutual respect. Shen Yun believed that as long as time went on and their bond deepened, they would eventually reach a harmonious and loving relationship, growing old together in harmony.
But it seems that ever since he forced her to give birth to this child, something has been spiraling out of control...
But Shen Yun did not regret forcing Lin Shutang to give birth to this child; on the contrary, she felt somewhat fortunate.
If her unrealistic ideas were to resurface, at least Shen Yun and she would still have some connection.
At that moment, Shen Yun unconsciously hugged a child weighing only ten pounds in her arms, placing all her hopes for Lin Shutang on him.
He hoped the child would resemble Lin Shutang more, and perhaps, consequently, she would also like the child's father a little more...
A note from the author:
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