Chapter 9: Holding the reins of the household seemed to welcome him with open arms.
Lin Shutang felt completely penetrated, and she unconsciously retreated, her head drooping, and her breathing slowed down.
Until there was nowhere left to retreat, with her back against the cabinet, Lin Shutang's eyelashes trembled and she was almost in tears.
Shen Yun is always like this; he always manages to find various ways to suppress her.
Get whatever response he wants from her.
Lin Shutang's chin was lifted up by slightly cool fingertips, but she still stubbornly refused to look at Shen Yun.
Have you ever imagined what your future husband would look like?
Shen Yun bent down to look at Lin Shutang and repeated Shen Zhixi's words verbatim.
To Lin Shutang, the gentle tone was like a thunderbolt.
He heard it all!
Warm breath brushed against her face, sending shivers down her spine. Lin Shutang's heart pounded, and before she could answer, Shen Yun's next question loomed closer, his tone still light and airy, "Does he resemble me?"
"Or, am I convincingly pretending?"
The barrage of questions fell like rapid raindrops, startling Lin Shutang so much that she stopped breathing.
“Shen Yun, you…”
"Ah Tang, no matter who you fantasize about, your husband is destined to be me." Shen Yun didn't listen to Lin Shu Tang's words. He pressed his cheek against her cheek and kissed her lips, his tone seemingly coaxing, "We have paid our respects to our parents and heaven and earth, and entered the ancestral genealogy. I am your only husband."
"Why bother? To fantasize about things that will never come to fruition." He seemed to strongly disagree.
Lin Shutang turned her head, her breathing becoming somewhat difficult from the kiss.
This kiss was not as gentle as the one in the artificial cave. In fact, with each word Shen Yun spoke, Lin Shutang felt his intent deepen.
Is he warning himself not to have unrealistic ideas?
Why did Shen Yun walk towards this cabinet? Did he know about the seal?
Lin Shutang's jaw was held captive, and under Shen Yun's onslaught, his mind became so dizzy that he could barely think straight.
Shen Yun's eyes were deep and dark. His gaze moved over Lin Shutang's flushed cheeks. He swallowed all of Lin Shutang's saliva along with her sobs, staring intently at the second layer of the cabinet...
After the 100-day celebration, the Duke's mansion returned to its former tranquility.
Shen Yun also needed to go on duty, so Lin Shutang was finally the only person in Jingyuan Residence during the day.
After getting up in the morning, Lin Shutang took Shen Yan to pay their respects to the old lady.
In the early days after their marriage, Lin Shutang was never still for a single day, trying every possible way to escape from the Duke's mansion.
Disguised as a maid, she learned that a token was required to leave the mansion.
He hid in the woodpile to avoid being pulled out by the gatekeeper during an inspection.
Using others as hostages, Shen Yun shot them dead with a single arrow, showing no regard for human life whatsoever.
On the contrary, Lin Shutang felt extremely guilty about it, and her soft heart became a weapon for Shen Yun to control her, forcing her not to run away again.
Lin Shutang couldn't take it anymore and started resorting to extreme measures again, such as setting fires, jumping into lakes, and stabbing Shen Yun with a knife.
But he's a complete lunatic; he seems to have endless energy to keep playing with her.
Lin Shutang can still remember Shen Yun's appearance at that time. It seemed that the deeper she penetrated, the more excited Shen Yun's eyes became.
It's something to be happy about to be hated by her so extremely.
Over the years, the Duke's mansion has been turned upside down by her and Shen Yun.
Shen Yun kept a closer eye on her each day, and Lin Shutang gradually lost her temper and stopped liking to go out.
Whether she goes out or not makes no difference; there will be no shortage of eyes watching her from the shadows.
Later, Shen Yun directly exempted Lin Shutang from the daily morning and evening greetings she was required to perform as the matriarch. From then on, Lin Shutang was almost completely isolated from the outside world, living a secluded life in Jingyuan Residence.
But now, perhaps because she has indeed been well-behaved all these years, Shen Yun has gotten what he wanted.
Surprisingly, they were willing to relent and give her some freedom.
Lin Shutang is now able to move freely within the Duke's mansion.
Upon entering the Crane Garden, Lin Shutang realized that she had arrived rather late.
The doctors from the three branches of the family were all seated, and the younger members of the family were also present. The large main hall suddenly felt crowded.
Perhaps not expecting Lin Shutang to come and pay his respects today, the previously noisy room fell silent for a few moments after seeing Lin Shutang.
Even Shen Zhixi, who was sitting on a small stool next to the second wife, was slightly stunned when she saw Lin Shutang.
Lin Shutang knew how terrifying her appearance was to them, but she couldn't stay in Jingyuan Residence forever.
Those who are meant to take this step will have to take it sooner or later.
"Shutang, it's kind of you to come and pay your respects to the old lady." The first to speak was Madam Chen, the eldest wife of the third branch of the family, who gave Xu Rongyi a meaningful look as she spoke.
A look of disdain for Xu Rongyi, the mother-in-law, who didn't even know how to discipline her own daughter-in-law, surfaced in his eyes.
Even if she was nominally the mother-in-law, she was still the rightful wife of the Duke of Dingguo, yet she couldn't control a junior.
In her opinion, she's not as capable as anyone else playing at home.
Lin Shutang nodded in greeting, said nothing more, and walked towards his seat.
The main hall was briefly agitated after the initial meeting with Lin Shutang, but it quickly returned to silence.
No one spoke. Even Xu Rongyi, who was sitting in the head seat on the left, pretended not to see Chen's provocative smile and slowly sipped her tea with her head down.
Being ignored like this, the atmosphere turned completely cold. Chen was so embarrassed that she almost dropped her teacup in anger.
These people can look down on her, that's one thing.
What gives Lin Shu-tang the right to do this?
We're all just daughters of merchants, of the same lowly birth. Why is she so high and mighty? She's just a junior.
Putting on airs!
Unlike the Chen family, everyone present came from prominent families in Yujing.
Even if they weren't, they were still well-known local gentry.
Having been exposed to this world since childhood, they have long since developed a sharp mind and a silver tongue.
He knows exactly what to say and what not to say.
No matter what Lin Shutang is not, she is still the heir apparent's wife, welcomed back by the prince with a grand procession and a ten-mile-long red bridal procession, and is the rightful matriarch of the Shen family.
She will also be the mistress of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion in the future.
Given Shen Yun's momentum, the title of Duke of Dingguo will naturally be inherited by Shen Yun in the future.
These people wouldn't overestimate their abilities and expect to compete with Shen Yun; they just need to stay by Shen Yun's side and enjoy their blessings.
Only a merchant's daughter from a humble family like Chen would act like an elder and think she could step on Lin Shutang's head.
But in the end, she was just a concubine who had been promoted to the rank of second wife, and these people would never stoop to being sisters-in-law with such a person.
At this moment, it would be merciful not to say anything to kick her while she's down, and naturally, no one would risk offending the Crown Prince's wife by speaking to her.
But then again, even though they are both daughters of merchants, their fates are just different.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but take another look at Lin Shutang.
Lin Shutang was extremely perceptive to these kinds of glances.
However, he had long been used to it, and following Xu Rongyi's example, he held the teacup and gently floated the tea foam on top without saying a word.
It took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea for the old lady to come out.
The old lady held Chen Yan in her arms and teased her, almost ignoring the women in the room.
Finally, after Shen Yan smacked his lips and looked at the sleepy child, the old lady reluctantly ordered someone to take the child away.
He solemnly gave a few words of advice, instructing women to be virtuous, respectful, cautious in speech and action, and to practice proper feminine virtues and appearance.
I'm so tired of hearing it every day.
After these pleasantries and a few more casual words, the greetings were considered complete.
The old lady then told them all to leave.
Only Lin Shutang and Xu Rongyi remained in Heyuan.
"Now that Shutang has given birth to a grandson, from today onwards, you, as her mother-in-law, should teach Shutang how to manage the household affairs and give her some authority to start learning."
The old lady spoke.
Xu Rongyi was startled by these words, but she showed no emotion on her face and replied respectfully, "Yes, Mother."
As soon as they left Crane Garden, Xu Rongyi's face fell.
She glanced at Lin Shutang standing to the side, feeling somewhat annoyed.
It's all her fault for not bearing a daughter for the Duke. After Shen Jingshi passes away, the Duke's mansion will have to be handed over to Shen Yun.
Xu Rongyi straightened up in front of Lin Shutang, her waist swaying, and put on her standard smile again. "Shutang, today I'll send someone to give you the Duke's mansion's account books from previous years to sort out. After you've finished, we'll continue. If you don't understand anything, you can come to Suyuanzhai to find your mother."
Lin Shutang nodded, "Thank you, Mother."
Xu Rongyi then swayed her hips and left.
Back at Jingyuan Residence, it wasn't until after noon that Suyuanzhai sent his nanny.
He carried a box full of adult account books and gave them to Lin Shutang to examine slowly.
Even though Lin Shutang knew that the other party had never really intended to teach her anything, it was only after seeing such a large box of account books that Lin Shutang realized that Xu Rongyi was still delaying.
If this goes on for too long, who knows how Xu Rongyi might make up stories about her being stupid and lazy to the old lady.
There has been no progress for so long, and the process of sorting out the accounts has taken several months.
"Madam, these are the account books of the Duke's mansion in recent years. The mistress takes pity on you and doesn't want you to work too hard, so she'll just do this one for now," the nanny said, seemingly very considerately.
"Yes, I understand. I will certainly not disappoint my mother-in-law and will carefully prepare and learn from her teachings."
Lin Shutang accepted it with a smile.
After seeing the old nanny off, Lin Shutang began organizing the account books in the west wing room.
As for Lin Shutang, no one ever told her how to be a matriarch or how to manage the household affairs.
But she had been traveling with her father as a merchant since she was a child, so it was not impossible for her not to understand the account books.
Stumped by such a trivial trick.
In one afternoon, Lin Shutang finished removing the top layer of the chest.
When I looked up, the sun was already setting.
Knowing that Shen Yun would be back from her shift soon, Lin Shutang's mood became heavy again.
Yesterday's tedious 100th birthday banquet was hardly a pleasant day.
It seemed that no matter where she went, she was always firmly locked onto by Shen Yun's eyes.
She felt like she had nowhere to hide.
Shen Yun must have seen that she met Song Ying and was more frantic than usual last night, which made her get up late today.
Just as I was thinking this, the slightly open window was blown open completely by the wind.
The chill of spring had not yet dissipated, and the cold wind at night was even more biting than during the day.
Lin Shutang felt a chill on his neck from the wind and stood up to close the window.
Just as I touched the window frame, my hand was suddenly enveloped by a pair of large hands.
It was cool and slippery, like a snake, gently guiding her hand to close the window.
The cold wind rushed in impatiently through the disappearing crack, and the chill crept up every inch of Lin Shutang's skin, making Shen Yun's already icy hands even stiffer.
It felt like a corpse was pressed against my back.
Lin Shutang suddenly thought of it.
The window was completely closed. Lin Shutang was still lost in thought when someone suddenly grabbed her waist and turned her around to face him.
"I heard you went to Crane Garden today?"
Shen Yun's news always arrives so quickly.
Lin Shutang lowered her head and gave a soft "hmm".
Shen Yun glanced sideways at the thick stack of account books piled on the table to the side, his eyes revealing no emotion, while his fingertips lightly caressed her soft palm.
"Did your grandmother ask you to manage the household affairs?"
Lin Shutang simply hummed in response.
Shen Yun seemed to smile, "If you are unwilling, I will refuse your grandmother on your behalf."
"No!" Lin Shutang quickly looked up, only to be caught off guard by Shen Yun's scrutinizing gaze.
Lin Shutang immediately deflated again.
"My grandmother told me to behave like a proper matriarch, and I naturally don't want to disappoint her," Lin Shutang explained hesitantly.
"As long as Ah Tang stays by my side obediently, what does it matter if others are disappointed?"
"Could it be that Ah Tang deliberately took on this job to avoid me?"
Shen Yun said casually, then stepped closer and, before Lin Shutang could object, grabbed her waist and lifted her onto the windowsill, pulling her knees aside with one hand.
The movement was swift and fluid; the person instantly squeezed between Lin Shutang's legs.
Lin Shutang exclaimed in surprise, her body forced to lean back, and she quickly raised her hand to grab Shen Yun's shoulder and arm tightly.
Lin Shutang's cheeks flushed; she didn't really like this position.
...as if they were welcoming him with open arms.
He couldn't close his legs, nor could he open them; he was frozen in place like a statue.
A note from the author:
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Shen Yun, a male ghost who seizes every opportunity to get intimate with his wife... oh no, close contact. [Owl emoji]
No update the day after tomorrow, I need to keep the word count low to try and get on the rankings. [Let me see] I'll update again on the 9th! If there's a ranking, I'll update daily for five days!
Um... (shy) (affected) (stirring hair) (rubbing hands like a fly), I wonder if this article has the honor of making it into your bookshelves?
Don't lose me! [crying emoji][crying emoji]
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