HXC Chapter42

It was late morning. Ji An carefully shook the soundly sleeping Ji Zhen. “Young Master, Madam Shen has sent someone to call you over.”

 

Ji Zhen groggily opened his eyes, thinking for a moment that he was back in the past. He rolled over, about to go back to sleep. “I’m still sleepy…”

 

He stretched half of his hand out from under the blanket and felt the edge of the bed. He didn’t feel the smooth agate on top, which slowly brought him back to reality.

 

This wasn’t the main wing, and he wasn’t sleeping in the wedding bed his elder brother had ordered to be built. Where would the agate be?

 

Ji Zhen poked his head out and told Ji An, “Tell them to wait for two kezhong[mfn]30min[/mfn].”

 

Ji An agreed and scurried out to pass on the message. Soon, a freshly washed and dressed Ji Zhen appeared at the door.

 

The person who came was the old nanny who had come with Madam Shen as part of her dowry. She was quite kind to Ji Zhen and smilingly led him to Madam Shen’s courtyard.

 

“Young Madam, come this way. The Madam is waiting inside.”

 

Ji Zhen hadn’t even entered the room yet when he heard laughter and talking. Besides Madam Shen, there was another old woman who looked somewhat familiar. After a careful look, Ji Zhen remembered seeing her at Yi Zhi’s wedding banquet.

 

His heart suddenly sank.

 

As expected, after he had bowed, Madam Shen said, “I asked you to come here today to discuss something with you.”

 

Ji Zhen stood respectfully. “Mother, please speak.”

 

After the Ji family fell, Madam Shen had never troubled Ji Zhen again, nor did she need him to come pay his respects. Ji Zhen rarely had to see her.

 

Madam Shen tried to speak several times, but the old woman clucked, “If you’re too embarrassed, let me speak.”

 

“Ji Zhen, you’re a junior, so I’ll call you that.” The old woman beckoned him over. “Come here.”

 

Ji Zhen stepped forward and saw two scrolls on the table. The hand hanging at his side instinctively clenched.

 

“Of these two, one is the legitimate daughter of the Chief Supervisor, while the other is the concubine’s daughter of the Grand Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Their families are both good, respectable households, and the daughters they raised are all knowledgeable and reasonable.” The old woman pushed the scrolls forward. “Look, they are both beautiful and talented young women.”

 

Ji Zhen managed a soft “Mm.”

 

“You and Lord Shen have been married for four years. In most families where a man is the only son and has married a male wife, they will usually take a co-wife.” The old woman held Ji Zhen’s hand and patted it. “But I heard from your mother that you didn’t agree. Today, I’m not afraid to be the bad person. I want to ask for your opinion. Which of these two do you prefer?”

 

The words were gentle, yet each one was a stab to the heart. Ji Zhen withdrew his hand, paying no mind to what the old woman was doing, and whispered, “My opinion doesn’t count. You should ask Shen Yanqing… besides, I don’t know the wishes of these two young ladies. How can I decide their marriage for them?”

 

The old woman said, “If they weren’t willing, how could I have the nerve to come to your door?”

 

She gave Madam Shen a look, and Madam Shen said, “Ji Zhen, please understand a mother’s heart. If you agree, it will be easier for me to speak with Yanqing.”

 

Ji Zhen’s throat tightened. He then looked up, his eyes a little red as he said, “Actually, there’s no need to go through the trouble of taking a co-wife. If Mother can get a letter of divorce for me from Shen Yanqing, everyone will be happy.”

 

The old woman cried out, “What are you saying? Are you threatening your mother-in-law with divorce?”

 

Madam Shen was also very surprised.

 

“Mother, I’m not joking.” Ji Zhen looked at Madam Shen, his eyes clear and lucid. He paused, then forced himself to continue with difficulty, “Whether Shen Yanqing remarries or not, whether it’s a co-wife or a concubine, you don’t need to ask for my opinion. You can make the decision yourself.”

 

After saying that, he gave a quick bow and turned to leave.

 

The old woman huffed, “My goodness, what a temper!”

 

Madam Shen slowly stood up, looking thoughtfully at Ji Zhen’s figure as it disappeared around the corner of the eaves.

 

Ji Zhen walked out of the courtyard gate without stopping. Ji An, who was waiting anxiously outside, rushed over to him when he saw he was safe. “Young Master, are you alright?”

 

His steps slowed down until he stopped completely. He blinked, then pointed blankly at his chest and said to Ji An, “It hurts here…”

 

Jian became anxious. “Where, where? I’ll go get a physician.”

 

But Ji Zhen knew this pain was beyond medicine. He shook his head and murmured, “No need, it will be alright.” As if to convince himself, he repeated, “I’ll be alright.”

 

—

 

After Madam Shen finished speaking, Shen Yanqing remained silent for a long time.

 

Father Shen felt it was strange. “Did he really say that?”

 

“Yes, he did,” said Madam Shen, her eyes filled with regret. “He really startled me, saying that if you divorced him, everyone would be happy. I never thought that.”

 

Father Shen said, “He must have been angry and said some nonsense. Back then, he cried and made a fuss just to enter our Shen family’s door. How could he so easily…”

 

“Father, Mother.” The silent Shen Yanqing suddenly interrupted them with a cold voice. “Times have changed.”

 

The Shen parents looked at their son, puzzled.

 

Shen Yanqing stood up and, as if in self-mockery, curved his lips slightly. “Now, it’s not him coercing me, but me forcing him to stay. It’s me who won’t divorce him, me who won’t divorce my wife, and him who doesn’t mind me remarrying…”

 

Everyone is happy—you can make the decision yourself.

 

Ji Zhen, who once threatened his life to stop Shen Yanqing from taking a concubine, now had a day where he didn’t care.

 

Madam Shen frowned. “Yanqing, the Shen family doesn’t have many members…”

 

Shen Yanqing bowed, his voice firm. “Regarding a male heir, consider me unfilial. When I am in the afterlife, I will apologize to our ancestors. I only ask that Father and Mother stop arranging my marriage. For the rest of my life, there will only be one person on my marriage contract, which is Ji Zhen until death do us part.”

 

Madam Shen took a sharp breath at her son’s strong tone.

 

Shen Yanqing, with a determined expression, bid his parents farewell and strode out of the courtyard. When he reached the garden, he tried to grasp a handful of moonlight, but his knuckles whitened, and still he couldn’t hold on to it.

 

From then on, [she] had no heart to love the beautiful nights, leaving the bright moon over the western chamber as it pleases[mfn]This phrase is from a poem, used to express personal emotions.[/mfn].

 

There was a faint sound of conversation outside the west wing.

 

“Young Master, I got this radish from the small kitchen. Do you think it’s suitable?”

 

“I asked for a red radish, so why did you get a white one?”

 

“I couldn’t find a red one…”

 

Shen Yanqing walked to the wooden railing. The wind gently blew the lanterns under the eaves, creating waves of light and shadow. Ji Zhen was squatting in the moonlight, building a snowman. He was wearing a padded cloak, and a pair of bright eyes peeked out. His fingers, chapped and red from the biting cold, fumbled as he attempted to fasten a short, plump white radish onto the knee-high snowman he had just assembled.

 

Ji An scratched his head. “It doesn’t seem to fit. I’ll go look again.”

 

Ji Zhen stuck the radish into the snowman’s head and said, “Don’t bother. Come here, I have something else for you to do.”

 

Ji An leaned his head in to listen, and Ji Zhen grabbed a handful of snow and threw it down his collar. He burst into laughter at Ji An’s shrieks of protest, and in his mirth, he lost his balance and sat down on the ground.

 

Ji Zhen didn’t rush to get up. He sat on the ground and grabbed another handful of snow to throw at Ji An, but Ji An was looking behind him.

 

He propped himself up on his hands and looked back. A figure loomed over and enveloped him. Shen Yanqing stood tall while looking down at the smiling Ji Zhen.

 

If there hadn’t been so much love and hatred between them, it would have been a truly beautiful and serene moment.

 

Shen Yanqing bent down to help Ji Zhen up, but before he could touch his hand, Ji Zhen scrambled a step forward and then got to his feet in a couple of quick movements, the smile vanishing from his face.

 

He turned to face Shen Yanqing while brushing the snow off his hands. Thinking of his conversation with Mother Shen earlier, he said in a low voice, “Is something wrong?”

 

Shen Yanqing walked into the room. Ji Zhen thought for a moment and followed him, but he didn’t let Ji An accompany him.

 

The silver charcoal was almost out, and the room was cold. Shen Yanqing took a small iron rod and casually stirred the coals, making the silver charcoal burn again. Ji Zhen washed his hands and saw that Shen Yanqing was still stirring the charcoal, kicking up ash. He couldn’t help but say, “That’s enough.”

 

Shen Yanqing’s movements paused. He put down the iron rod and looked back, the light in his eyes flickering. “I’ve seen Mother.”

 

Ji Zhen’s heart tightened. He walked to the table and picked up the water pot, giving a quiet “Mm.”

 

Shen Yanqing asked, “Is there nothing else you want to say to me?”

 

The water had been sitting for a while and was cold. The chill spread down his throat to his limbs. Ji Zhen shook his head.

 

Shen Yanqing strode forward and grabbed Ji Zhen’s wrist, causing some of the water in the porcelain cup to spill. He stared intently at Ji Zhen, his brow slowly furrowing.

 

Ji Zhen thought for a moment and said with an astringent voice, “If it’s about your marriage, you don’t have to come here specifically. I have already told Mother that I will not stop you in any way…”

 

Shen Yanqing’s temple throbbed fiercely, and he interrupted him coldly, “Can you truly stand by and watch me marry and have children with someone else?”

 

Just hearing that made Ji Zhen’s eyes and nose sting. He turned his face away. “That’s your business.”

 

Ji Zhen tried to pull his hand back with all his strength, but Shen Yanqing wouldn’t let go. In the struggle, the porcelain cup slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor with a crisp sound.

 

“My business?” Shen Yanqing questioned. “Who said that if I dared to marry someone else, the Shen family’s red wedding banners would turn into white funeral ones, and that they would never let me off the hook?”

 

Ji Zhen choked up. “I already forgot…”

 

Shen Yanqing shook his head and said thoughtfully, “You may have forgotten, but I remember every single detail. I don’t know what someone without trust is capable of. Why would you break your word?”

 

Ji Zhen couldn’t take it anymore and pushed Shen Yanqing away. His eyes were red as he said, “Don’t talk to me about these grand principles. My mind is slow, I don’t understand, and I don’t want to listen either. From the day I entered your Shen family, all of you tried to find a way to chase me away. Now I am willing to give up my position to welcome a new master. You get what you want, and I also don’t have to be scolded for my so-called lack of virtue and kneel in the ancestral hall for two hours.”

 

He accused, “You have never been punished by kneeling, so you don’t know that even with two cushions, after kneeling for that long, you can’t even walk properly. I don’t want to kneel anymore…”

 

In the past, when he was punished, Shen Yanqing never said a single word on his behalf. Now, he would never expect the other party to stand up for him.

 

Ji Zhen finally sobbed in grievance, “Your mother is right, you are the only son. I don’t want people to gossip about me and say that I caused your Shen family’s lineage to die out. It would be better if you married again.”

 

Shen Yanqing’s jaw tightened. He turned his face slightly. “Better?”

 

Ji Zhen was so frightened by the cold expression that he took a small step back, falling silent and not daring to answer.

 

Like a helpless young lamb in the forest, he instinctively sensed a hint of danger. Instinctively and fearfully, he felt along the table and slowly moved away from Shen Yanqing.

 

After only two steps, Shen Yanqing grabbed his waist and dragged him toward the bed.

 

Ji Zhen was thrown onto the bed. He flailed, trying to escape, but was pinned down tightly.

 

Shen Yanqing’s eyes were filled with a dark storm. He said in a low voice, “Fine, if you don’t want to listen, then don’t. I also promise you that from now on, no one will ever punish you by making you kneel.”

 

He placed his palm on Ji Zhen’s cheek and gently stroked it. “Since you are so considerate of my Shen family, how can I disappoint your kind intentions?”

 

It was as if Ji Zhen’s throat was stuck with sticky rice cake, and he couldn’t utter a single word.

 

Shen Yanqing’s hand moved to Ji Zhen’s flat abdomen. He leaned down, his voice terrifyingly calm. “I’ve heard there are secret medicines in Southern Xinjiang that can make a man pregnant. Since you want to give the Shen family an heir, why do you need someone else to do it? Wouldn’t it be more sincere for you to do it yourself?”

 

Ji Zhen’s eyes widened in shock. “You, you’re talking nonsense…”

 

Shen Yanqing’s eyes sparkled. He gently kneaded Ji Zhen’s belly, speaking in a very slow voice, “The only way to know if it’s true or not is to try. How about we guess right now whether the one that crawls out of your belly will look more like me or more like you?”

 

The other party was a man of great knowledge, and his demeanor didn’t seem to be a pretense. Ji Zhen was terrified. He turned over, trying to run. “I don’t want to…”

 

Shen Yanqing held him down with a few quick movements, blocked his lips, and whispered, “Ji Zhen, this is what’s best for everyone.”

 

Cries filled the entire bed. Outside, snow flew and the wind blew, while inside, the room was filled with the lustful atmosphere of spring.

 

The author has something to say:

He can’t get pregnant, he’s just tricking the fool Zhen Zhen.