Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Getting mixed up in the struggle for the Crown Prince was out of the question.

Han Zhang wasn't arrogant enough to wade into that kind of mess and still expect to come out unscathed.

Because poor scholars from humble backgrounds like him were the easiest to be used as cannon fodder. Even if by some miracle they won, the credit they could claim was limited, and the effort just wasn't worth the reward.

Good thing the abilities he'd shown so far were limited, and the Crown Prince didn't absolutely need him.

If he could just hide his abilities and play his cards right, he could still follow his original plan: after acing the imperial exams, he'd be posted to some remote county as a minor official, wait a few years until the Crown Prince struggle died down, and then return to the capital to develop his career.

As for the thought of rebellion... Han Zhang didn't have it yet.

After all, rebellion wasn't something you could just talk about; it required the right timing, right place, and right people. Right now, Zhao was stable, the people were at peace, and everything was calm. Overthrowing the court at this time was far too difficult.

Without some trigger or pressure, most people were content with the status quo.

Especially since Han Zhang's life was great now—he had food and drink, his family was with him, and soon he would have his young husband to warm his bed. Life was sweet, so he had little motivation to do something that could get his head chopped off.

However, for a modern person who was practically made of rebellious bone, sometimes all it took was one word to get them to charge into action.

So, it didn't matter that Han Zhang himself had no such thoughts; Shen Qinglan, who was always urging his Brother Han to grow up and achieve great things, would fan the flames for him...

But that was a story for later.

For now, Han Zhang's thoughts were spinning. He quickly put aside his worries about the Crown Prince's gift and continued to happily greet his guests, with Clan Chief Han presiding over the wedding ceremony, marrying his young husband.

"First bow to heaven and earth, second bow to the parents, then the two husbands bow to each other... escort to the bridal chamber!"

Witnessed and blessed by all the relatives and guests, Han Zhang and Shen Qinglan finally became lawfully wedded husbands.

After the ceremony, Han Zhang stayed behind to continue entertaining the guests.

Shen Qinglan was escorted to the bridal chamber by several women of good fortune (those with both parents alive, children, and a well-managed, happy life).

——

Han's mother worried that Shen Qinglan, as a new bridegroom, would feel shy and nervous.

She deliberately brought Second Aunt Han, Third Aunt Han, and the young ladies and lads of the family, bringing food over to chat with him and keep him company, and help him get familiar with the Han family atmosphere.

As she laid out the dishes, Han's mother smiled warmly and said:

"Lan Geer, you must be hungry after getting up so early. Please eat something first. The chef from the city restaurant made these especially for you. They might not be as fancy as what you had at home, but the taste should be pretty decent..."

Second Aunt Han and Third Aunt Han were also helping set out the bowls and chopsticks.

Although Shen Qinglan was naturally naive and pampered, he wasn't completely clueless about how things worked. Seeing his mother-in-law personally serving him, he got flustered and quickly tried to stop her:

"Mother, please let the servants handle this. You and the aunts should sit down."

He was a junior—how could he let his elders serve him?

The maids and page boys also stepped forward at the same time: "Madam, please let us take care of this."

Second Aunt Han and Third Aunt Han, never having been served by servants before, felt a bit awkward.

But Han's mother was the calmest and most tactful. She smiled and smoothed things over, gently reassuring the new bridegroom.

"Lan Geer, don't be so formal. In our country household, we don't bother with all that fuss. Please try the food. Big Brother specifically told the chef to make these dishes. See if they suit your taste?"

"Did Brother Han... my husband, specifically order this?"

Shen Qinglan blushed at this, because Han Zhang was thinking of him, feeling both shy and happy.

The younger members of the Han family also gathered around, chatting away and livening up the atmosphere.

Han Dong, who had the sweetest tongue, spoke first: "Brother-in-law, I'm Dong Geer, your husband's full brother."

"Brother-in-law, you're so handsome, just like the immortals in the storyteller's tales! No wonder my brother has been grinning like an idiot at the wedding invitation ever since he got engaged. The other night he even dreamed about you and called out 'husband' in his sleep—it was hilarious..."

Han Qinnian, the second brother, gave a simple smile and said: "Brother-in-law, I'm Qinnian, also your husband's brother. Do you like this house? When we renovated it, I worked really hard..."

"I'm Qinfeng, from the second branch..."

"I'm Qinwen, also from the second branch..."

"I'm Qiu Geer, from the second branch..."

"I'm Chun Ya, from the third branch..."

"I'm Xia Ya, also from the third branch..."

The other younger siblings also introduced themselves, some shy, some lively, some bashful.

In short, regardless of their personalities, everyone showed curiosity and goodwill toward Shen Qinglan in their eyes and faces.

This warm and friendly atmosphere gradually made Shen Qinglan's nervousness disappear. Listening to the Han siblings' anecdotes about Han Zhang's childhood, he laughed until his eyes crinkled.

"Really? Was my husband that mischievous before?"

"Of course! Don't be fooled by his proper gentleman demeanor now. When he was a kid, he was a real handful. If he didn't get a spanking in three days, he'd be up on the roof tearing off tiles. He even ran around the village with his butt naked. Later, after he went to the private school and had a teacher to guide him, he gradually mellowed out..."

Han's mother covered her mouth and spilled the beans on her son's embarrassing stories.

Han Dong chimed in: "Actually, my brother hasn't changed much. Whenever he gets a chance, he messes with us!"

Han Qinnian added: "But he's still the best brother. Every time he comes home for a break, he uses the money he earned from copying books to buy us pastries!"

"This year, our eldest cousin earned money from his flower business, so I not only got pastries but also got several more outfits than last year. Eldest cousin is the best..."

Qiu Geer and the others also chimed in, full of admiration and affection for Han Zhang.

As everyone knows, for fangirls and fanboys, if we share the same idol, we're instant besties!

Because of Han Zhang, Shen Qinglan quickly got familiar with the Han family and hit it off with them.

However, nothing is perfect.

Just as the Shen family had the sharp-tongued Mrs. Lü, the Han family had a piece of work like Fifth Aunt.

When she heard that her eldest nephew had married the son of an official's family, Fifth Aunt today brought her husband and kids, for once actually brought gifts, and came running back to her parents' house early.

Earlier, when Shen Qinglan's dowry was delivered to the Han family, Fifth Aunt's eyes practically bugged out of her head!

If Grandmother Han hadn't kept a close watch, she would have rushed out right then and there to pry open the boxes and see just how generous her nephew's husband's dowry was.

Unfortunately, amidst the day's chaos, Grandmother Han could only watch her for a moment, but not forever!

So, taking advantage of Grandma Han's distraction,

Fifth Aunt quickly brought her own children and rushed to the bridal chamber to join the fun.

"Fifth Aunt, today's feast is all the specialty dishes from the city's restaurant chefs. Since you rarely visit your natal family, you should enjoy yourself with good food and drink. My son's husband is already being taken care of by me, his mother-in-law, so you needn't trouble yourself."

Fifth Aunt was truly hard to deal with. Even Han's mother, who was usually tactful, couldn't help but frown as she hinted that Fifth Aunt shouldn't cause trouble on this happy day.

However, if Fifth Aunt had any sense of shame, she wouldn't have become the family's pest.

She completely ignored Han's mother's hint, boldly pushed aside Second Aunt Han and Third Aunt Han, and sat down next to Shen Qinglan. Staring greedily at his exquisite wedding gown, she exclaimed,

"Oh my, is this our Big Brother's new husband? He's so handsome! As expected of a son from an official family—the wedding gown even has gold threads embroidered on it! It's dazzling me!"

"Is this crown made of gold? Oh my, it even has gemstones! I've never seen such fine things in my life. Nephew's husband, let me have a look..."

As she spoke, without asking for permission, she reached out to touch his crown.

How could Shen Qinglan let her touch his crown? He immediately dodged.

A groom's crown, like a bride's veil, can only be touched and removed by his own husband!

Han's mother quickly grabbed Fifth Aunt's hand. While inwardly vowing to deal with this sister-in-law later, she suppressed her anger and smoothed things over:

"Fifth Aunt must be drunk. Second Sister-in-law, Third Sister-in-law, please help Fifth Aunt to have some sobering soup and rest properly."

Today was her son's happy day; anything else could wait. Making a scene today would be very bad luck.

But would Fifth Aunt cooperate?

She had decided to take advantage of the festive atmosphere to exploit her nephew's husband, knowing that no one would want to cause a scene. If this son of an official family gave her something casually, she'd be rich.

As for building a good relationship for more benefits—she didn't even consider that. Ever since Han Zhang had traveled back in time, she had never been able to get anything from her natal family. That clever nephew guarded against her like she was a thief.

She absolutely hated that nephew!

Fifth Aunt continued her shameless pestering: "Oh, Sister-in-law, are you so happy you've lost your mind? Can't you smell whether I've been drinking?"

"And you, nephew's husband, am I some monster? I just wanted to get closer to you. Why are you hiding? Why can't I even touch you? Do you look down on us country folk?"

Having said that, before Shen Qinglan could speak, she began to wail loudly:

"Oh dear, nephew's husband, this won't do! When you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, you follow the dog. If you look down on us country folks, why did you marry our Big Brother? Didn't our Big Brother also grow up working the land?"

"Some son of an official family—doesn't know any manners at all, doesn't even know how to bow and show respect to elders..."

Along with her wailing,

her two children also ran up and clamored, just as their mother had taught them.

Ge Guangzong: "Big Cousin's husband, give us lucky money, lucky money!"

Ge Bao'er: "Big Cousin's husband, wedding candy, wedding candy! If you don't give us candy, you won't have babies!"

The mother and her two children threw a tantrum with no regard for the occasion, even cursing people with their words!

Han's mother was so angry her eyes went red. She wished she could slap her sister-in-law right there.

But she still had to maintain the image of a kind mother-in-law in front of her son's husband.

So, Han's mother could only secretly signal to Han Dong and the other children. After all, children were reckless and could get away with anything.

The Han children were all sharp. Upon receiving the hint from their mother or aunt, they immediately swarmed around Fifth Aunt, who was still wailing, and her two children.

While covering their mouths and dragging them out, they pretended to be worried and shouted:

"Fifth Aunt, Fifth Aunt, what's wrong? Cousin Guangzong, Cousin Bao'er, why have you fainted? Wake up..."

Han Dong and the others yelled with feigned concern, but secretly they pinched Fifth Aunt hard.

How dare Fifth Aunt cause trouble on Big Brother's happy day? They'd pinch her to death, this family troublemaker!

"Mmph—!!!"

As the saying goes, "Half-grown boys can beat grown men." Fifth Aunt, outnumbered and overpowered, could only cry in pain as she was dragged out by those little brats.

Only then did Han's mother give Shen Qinglan an apologetic smile: "Look at Fifth Aunt—she's so happy that Big Brother got married, she fainted from joy."

Shen Qinglan, catching on, put on a serious and concerned look: "Mother, fainting can be serious. Fifth Aunt is older and can't be careless about her health. Qiao Nan, who serves me, knows a bit of acupuncture. How about I let Qiao Nan give Fifth Aunt a few needles?"

Having said that,

Qiao Nan, understanding his master's intentions, immediately pulled out a hairpin from his hair and chased after them: "Young master, rest assured, I'll go treat Fifth Aunt right away!"

"Go ahead, give Fifth Aunt a couple more pricks on her hand. Earlier I noticed that her hand seemed to have some problem."

Shen Qinglan quickly added, his vengeful expression barely concealed.

Han's mother: "..."

"My dear little one, at least we should pretend a little, right?"