Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 61
During the conversation, Shen Zhen’s eyes occasionally drifted to a place not far away.
Shen Shu knew who she was looking for.
Through Shen Zhen’s eyes, she saw the purity and courage that only girls have when they first fall in love.
Just like herself a few years ago.
Li Di was busy day and night, and was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he returned home. In a daze, he still remembered calling in her ear, “Shu Shu“.
Then tuck the quilt in for her.
In those moments, she really thought that she had met the best man in the world, the man who loved her the most.
During these four years, all of Li Di’s clothes were made by her.
Just because he said his wife’s soup was the most delicious in the world, she even went out of her way to find cooks from all over the country to learn how to make it…
Who hasn’t been stupid before?
So after she fell out with Li Di, for a long time she couldn’t believe that those unbearable things were true, and what she held in her hands was fake.
To this day, it was already hard for her to trust anyone.
However, she didn’t want to influence Shen Zhen with her own ideas, because everyone’s destiny is different, and perhaps Lu Yan’s affection for her was not just a mirage.
All she could do was to get the evidence of Li Di’s guilt as soon as possible and prevent the Li family’s affairs from becoming a burden to Shen Zhen.
“Big sister?” Shen Zhen called her again.
Shen Shu came back to her senses, smiled, held her hand and suddenly remembered a sentence that Lu Yan asked her to bring to Shen Zhen.
“Zhen’er, why do you want to know about the Empress Dowager?” Shen Shu asked.
“The Empress Dowager?” Shen Zhen blinked and said, “I didn’t ask about the Empress Dowager…”
Shen Shu frowned and asked, “Then why did Lu Yan ask me to tell you that the Empress Dowager is still unconscious?”
As soon as the words fell, Shen Zhen instantly realized what he meant. Her face flushed slightly and she whispered, “She still hasn’t woken up?”
Shen Shu nodded and said, “The Empress Dowager is old, and this time the injury is to the head. How could she recover so easily? I heard that if it weren’t for the Xu family and Xu Seventh young lady, I’m afraid it would be…” Needless to say, Shen Zhen also knew the rest of the words.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Zhen couldn’t help but cover her face.
It turned out that what he said was true and she shouldn’t have lost her temper with him.
When Shen Shu looked at Shen Zhen’s expression, she knew that it has something to do with Lu Yan.
It was getting late, so the two sisters separated. Shen Shu left through the back door, while Shen Zhen got on the carriage and drove towards Mount Li.
As the sky gradually darkened, Shen Zhen lifted the curtain with some uneasiness and looked outside. Tang Yue immediately whispered, “Miss, don’t worry. Master will be here soon.”
As soon as Tang Yue said this, Shen Zhen realized that what she had done was too obvious and that she should hold back.
Shen Zhen closed her eyes and took a short nap. When she opened them, she had already arrived at the hot spring villa.
Just then, the sound of horse hooves was heard behind her.
Shen Zhen turned around and saw Lu Yan tightening the reins and dismounting.
She stood there in a daze, and he walked over and tapped her head, “You’re one year older, and you already forgot how to greet someone?”
Shen Zhen hurriedly said “My Lord”.
Lu Yan held her hand and said softly, “We will stay here today and go back tomorrow.”
“My Lord, will you not be on duty tomorrow?”
“Every seventh day is a day off.” Lu Yan said as he led her inside.
This hot spring villa was obviously Lu Yan’s private property. Looking around, there are pavilions, towers, willow trees and beautiful scenery.
After dinner, they pushed open a door and saw a huge hot spring pool.
This hot spring pool is divided into two levels, ten feet long and four feet deep. The surrounding stairs are made of black stone. If one looks closely, they can see that each stone has lotus patterns on it, and each pattern was different.
The surroundings were filled with smoke and mist. Although it was beautiful, the presence of a man and a woman here inevitably added a touch of charm.
Shen Zhen looked up at him, hesitated for a while, and then said, “I misunderstood.”
Lu Yan held Shen Zhen’s head and pressed it into his arms, “Did you hear from your elder sister?” The man’s voice was hoarse and contained a hint of helplessness.
It can be said that Lu Yan’s scheming is much deeper than the hot spring pool in front of him.
He knew that Shen Zhen was very bothered by what happened that night. Even if she was coaxed well, there would always be an invisible thorn. If he guessed correctly, Shen Zhen and Xu Qinnan did not get along well in the past. If this thorn was not completely removed, it might be brought up again someday.
Shen Zhen also recalled how this person had been coaxing her recently, and couldn’t help feeling a little ashamed.
She put her arms around his waist, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his adams apple. At first, the man refused to lower his head to cooperate, so she could only hold his collar and look at him.
Lu Yan lowered his eyes and looked back and it was as if he had stepped into a swamp after just one glance.
His heart tightened and he lowered his head and kissed her.
To ensure his sanity, Lu Yan took off her skirt and deliberately left her middle clothes on, hoping to let her soak in the water for a while longer to get rid of the cold.
However, after entering the water, he realized that he was wrong. The wet clothes sticking to her exquisite curves would only make one loose their sanity even more
Those two pink pearls didn’t spare him at all.
——
Shen Shu returned to Li Mansion. As soon as she entered the inner room, she saw Li Di sitting on the couch with a food box in his hand.
“What are you doing here?” Shen Shu looked at him and asked.
“This is the crispy cake you love to eat, I went to buy it specially.” Li Di said.
There was no expression on Shen Shu’s face. She just felt that the man in front of her was really funny. The news that Marquis Changping would lead his troops into the capital tomorrow had just come out and he was busy paving the way for himself?
“Shu Shu.” Li Di called her again, “It has nothing to do with what you think. I just don’t want to be in a stalemate with you forever. Since we have to spend our lives together, someone has to bow down first, right?”
Shen Shu said nothing and just looked at him coldly.
In Li Di’s opinion, with Shen Yu’s temper, she should have been asked to leave long ago. Now she was looking at him like this, perhaps because she saw something of the past in him.
He had seen Shen Shu’s tenderness and soft-heartedness.
Li Di knew that it would be bad to force her, so he choked up and said, “Okay, I’ll go out first.”
After Li Di left, Shen Yu bit her lower lip, sneered, and murmured, “No wonder he would rather send He Wanru away than divorce.”
Qingli frowned and said, “What do you mean, young lady…”
“Marquis Changping, Su Heng, will be coming to the capital tomorrow.”
If Su Heng is still willing to stand on the side of the Crown Prince because of their past friendship, the situation in Chang’an will change again.
At that time, although the Crown Prince’s power would not be equal to that of the Sixth Prince, it would be enough to make the Sixth Prince hate him to the core.
Sometimes, once the feelings fade, reason will come back.
Shen Yu looked at the food box at hand and suddenly thought, since Li Di wanted to play a trick on her, why don’t she cooperate with him?
——
Madam Wen, Li Di’s mother, was slamming the table in front of Li Di at this moment.
“You knew Ru’er’s legs were not in good condition, but you still forced her to go on the journey? Li Di! Have you forgotten what you promised your mother?”
Li Di nodded, put his thumb on his temple and rubbed it desperately: “Mother, under the current situation, I can’t keep her in the capital. If others know about it, will your son still be able to serve as an official?”
Madam Wen glared at him and asked, “Are you really not for that criminal family?”
“Shen Shu is not a criminal, she is your daughter-in-law.” Li Di replied.
Madam Wen angrily threw the cup to the ground, “Daughter-in-law? Did you see how mad she was at an old woman like me? If it weren’t for my tough life, you would have already been in mourning!”
“Mother, when things calm down, I will take Ru’er back. I will also take care of the He family, young and old, and will not let the Bodhisattva say that we are ungrateful.”
Li Di knew what her mother cared about. He Wanru had saved her life and she had sworn in front of the Bodhisattva that she would treat He Wanru like her own daughter in the future.
Madam Wen raised her hand and wiped away her tears, “Remember what you said, now get out.”
“Then this son will leave first. Mother, take a good rest.”
Unfortunately, Li Di’s drama of the prodigal son’s return just lasted one night before the stage was torn down.
As soon as the sky was slightly bright, Qingli rushed into the inner room and woke up Shen Shu, “Young lady, it’s bad, something big has happened.”
Shen Shu opened her eyes.
“Something happened. Something big has happened.” Since she heard these words last year, she feels like a bucket of cold water has been poured over everytime she hears it.
“What is it?.” Shen Shu asked.
“The lady from the He family has come to our house.” Qingli said.
Shen Yu raised her eyebrows, “He Wanru?”
“Yes.” Qingli nodded heavily and looked at her hesitantly.
“Qingli, just say what you want to say.” If He Wanru didn’t have any bargaining chips in her hand, why would she come back halfway?
“She is pregnant…” Qingli’s voice was trembling when she said this. Her master had always wanted to give birth to a child for her husband, but four years had passed and there was no movement.
Shen Shu gritted her teeth and went to see a doctor, and also tried to pray to the Goddess of Fertility, but in the end, Li Di only said that their fate had not yet arrived.
Who would have thought that today she would be so grateful that fate that did not arrive.
Qingli’s eyes were red.
Shen Shu rubbed her head, “Are you stupid? What’s there to cry about? He Wanru is here just in time. Let’s go and take a look.”
Shen Shu walked into Lu’an Hall.
Madam Wen, Madam He, He Wanru, and Li Di, each of them had four different expressions on their faces.
Li Di was standing in a daze in the distance, his eyes trembling slightly.
He Wanru knew that Li Di’s wife was a beauty, but when she finally saw She Shu did she realize that she was this beautiful. She looked down at her legs and tears fell from her eyes.
Madam He slapped her thigh and cried, sobbing, and it was very painful to hear.
At this moment, Madam Wen stood up, cleared her throat and said, “Shen Shu, you came at the right time. I have something to tell you. Since Ru’er is pregnant, she is the legitimate daughter-in-law of my Li family so she cannot leave.”
After that, Madam Wen held He Wanru’s hand and said, “Ru’er, you stay here and let those who need to leave go!”
“Mother!” Li Di said angrily.
He Wanru cried even more bitterly. Shen Yu could imagine that if Li Di dared to say that he didn’t want her, He Wanru would rush towards the pillar and kill herself.
Madam He glanced at Li Di and started crying too, “Our Ru’er has a miserable life, she doesn’t have the fate to enter the Li family tree.”
Entering the family tree, it is clear that they don’t want the concubine position.
With everyone forcing him, Li Di’s face turned from pale to blue.
Madam Wen knew that it was unrealistic to divorce immediately, and she couldn’t force her son to death, so she took a step back and said, “If you don’t want to divorce, then you can be made a equal wife1(A co-wife , also known as a concurrent wife , refers to a situation where there are multiple wives under a polygamous system. A co-wife also refers to other wives who exist at the same time as the first wife.) to Ruer.”
Shen Shu knew that as long as she stepped forward and assumed the position of a matriarch, making it difficult for these four people to back down, He Wanru’s position as a equal wife would be secured.
But now she has other plans.
Shen Shu looked at Li Di, forced herself to shed two tears and whispered, “Is this what you said, by bowing your head?”
After saying that, she turned and left.
“Shen Shu.” Li Di called out.
The entire Li Mansion was in chaos.
