Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Shen Qinglan thought his married life was great.

Since his mother wanted to know, he had nothing to hide and naturally told her everything about his time at the Han family.

After hearing this, Madam Shen was really relieved.

Although the entire Han family doted on Lan’ge, which could easily spoil him,

given the Shen family’s status and the Han family’s circumstances, it made sense for the Hans to let Lan’ge have his way in everything. This was far better than using the pretext of “teaching a new husband” to impose household rules on her son and cause him grief.

She was especially happy that Han Zhang didn’t just live off his husband’s dowry, knew to strive for self-improvement, and took the initiative to support the family.

However, she still had to teach him a thing or two.

Madam Shen nodded in satisfaction and then gave earnest advice: “Lan’ge, the Han family treats you well, but you must not become too arrogant because of this, throwing your weight around with their indulgence. Remember, feelings can only take so much.”

“You must also treat your in-laws well, be considerate to your husband, keep the household running smoothly, and always respect the elders of the Han family…”

“I know, Mother, rest assured. My mother-in-law treats me well, so naturally I respect her too. Besides, I’m good with words—my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law love listening to me talk.”

Shen Qinglan said that, feeling pretty proud of himself. He knew how to win people over, but only if he actually wanted to.

For instance, he couldn’t be bothered with his father.

Madam Shen gave a helpless smile: “You understand, that’s good. In any case, now that you’re married, you can’t just do whatever you want anymore. Think things through carefully. If you’re ever unsure, come home and talk to your mother.”

“I know, Mother, you’ve said it so many times—I understand…”

“Here, Mom, try the pastries I brought today. These were all my husband came up with himself. My husband and I plan to open a tea house with these pastry styles. Mom, what do you think?”

Shen Qinglan was just as lively and carefree as he’d been before marriage, chatting away with his mom.

Looking at her still radiant son, Madam Shen grew even more satisfied with Han Zhang as a son-in-law.

Meanwhile.

After testing Han Zhang’s learning, Father Shen nodded approvingly.

“Your essays have a solid foundation and fresh insights, but your reading isn’t broad enough—you don’t have the deep background that sons of noble families do. Your writing style needs more practice and polish.”

“Based on your current level, if nothing unexpected happens next year, you should have no problem passing the second tier of the imperial exams. When you have time, bring Lan’ge to visit often. Feel free to use the books in my study…”

To be fair, even though Father Shen was all about interests, as a successful candidate who passed the imperial examination from a poor family, his scholarship was indeed remarkable. A few pointers from him really helped Han Zhang.

And precisely because he was all about interests, seeing that Han Zhang had real talent and could go places in officialdom with the right training, Father Shen treated his son-in-law with warmth and respect, showing no signs of disdain. He handled social niceties very skillfully.

Guess it’s true that guys who marry up all have some real skills.

“Thanks for your guidance, Father-in-law. I will often bring Lan’ge to visit and seek your advice.”

Han Zhang naturally bowed respectfully, matching his father-in-law’s politeness.

You gotta learn to humble yourself when you’re down.

Do not feel inferior or humiliated—when you rise to a high position, these experiences will become the medals on your path that great scholars will debate and applaud.

Never mock an old man’s white hair, never bully a poor youth.

The clear wind may cut down youthful ambition, but a young man fears not to draw his bow.

The conversation between Han Zhang and his husband with Father and Madam Shen was very pleasant, and the atmosphere was warm…

Things were like this until nearly noon, when the already-married Shen Qingbai, Shen Qingshuang, and Shen Qingquan each returned with their husbands, breaking this warm atmosphere.

The three of them arriving together was no coincidence.

They knew it was Shen Qinglan’s return visit on the third day after marriage, so they deliberately came with their husbands to show off and embarrass their previously envied second brother.

Of course, these thoughts belonged to Shen Qingbai and Shen Qingshuang.

Shen Qingquan actually did not want to come back today to annoy his elder brother, as he and Shen Qinglan were twin brothers, and feeling guilty about stealing his older brother’s man, he didn’t have the nerve to show off.

But there was no stopping the heir of the Jin Yang Bo mansion from coming!

As mentioned before, when Chai Wenxuan, heir of the Jin Yang Bo mansion, originally sought marriage with Shen Qinglan despite his twice-broken engagements, he later took a liking to Shen Qingquan but didn’t want to break off the engagement—instead, he wanted to take a second wife.

This showed that he had genuine feelings for Shen Qinglan.

Thus, seeing Shen Qinglan marry some poor scholar instead of being his second wife, he felt discontent and resentful.

So today, when Shen Qinglan returned with his husband, he couldn’t resist coming over to see what was so great about Han Zhang compared to him.

Then…

Then Chai Wenxuan was totally crushed.

Because Han Zhang’s looks and presence were just too strong.

Chai Wenxuan realized that apart from family background, Han Zhang was no worse than him—a Bo mansion heir—in terms of looks and bearing. If anything, Han Zhang was way better!

That fact really bothered him.

Chai Wenxuan couldn’t help but complain in a low voice to Shen Qingquan: “Why didn’t you tell me that scholar had such amazing looks and presence?”

When rivals meet, the ugly one feels awkward. He wasn’t ugly, but being outshone was really embarrassing.

“Second Brother’s husband is an outsider man—I’m a young man of the inner courtyard. I’ve never met him, so how could I have told you what he looks like?”

Shen Qingquan was hurt by this complaint.

He wasn’t envious that his second brother’s husband had such looks and bearing—after all, no matter how good they were, he was still just a commoner. His second brother, as his husband, would have no standing at parties.

But what stung was that even after his second brother got married, his own husband still carried a torch for him and compared himself to his second brother’s husband!

Shen Qingquan’s heart ached, but he could only try to comfort him gently: “Husband, second brother is already married. He seems very happy with this Han gentleman. I hope he’ll be happy. Please don’t dwell on him anymore, alright?”

“Not dwell on him? How can I not? You know how I feel about him… I can’t let go of my feelings for you, so how can I let go of my feelings for him?”

“Ah, why can’t things in this world be perfect? If Qinglan were willing to share, how happy the three of us would be… Qingquan, don’t you think?”

Chai Wenxuan’s heart ached unbearably, and he grew melancholy.

After his lament, he still needed Shen Qingquan to give him positive emotional support.

After all, he was a sentimental man of culture.

Shen Qingquan felt a stifled lump of anger in his chest: “…”

Meanwhile,

Shen Qingbai and Shen Qingshuang, the brother and sister who had originally planned to flaunt and compare that day to embarrass Shen Qinglan, were now equally furious enough to spit blood.

The reason was simple.

It was because of their husbands—Fan Zixu and Zhao Hongji.

Back then, although Fan Zixu and Zhao Hongji had been betrothed to Shen Qinglan and then broken off the engagements, due to the ancient rules separating men and women, the two men had never actually had a chance to meet their former fiancé after the betrothals were set.

Later, the broken engagements brought humiliation, making Shen Qinglan hate them to death, so naturally, he would never see them again.

Thus, today was the first time they truly saw the former fiancé they had once rejected.

And then…

These two, who had been lured away by beauty, now felt some regret.

Back then, when they looked at Shen Qinglan’s portrait, they admitted he was indeed good-looking, but who could have told them? Where did the Shen family find that painter? The technique was far too poor.

The real Shen Qinglan was at least ten times more beautiful than the painting!

If they had known Shen Qinglan was like that, even if he had been spoiled in temperament, unskilled in flattery, and had not even embroidered a sachet for them to show his affection—wooden and uninteresting as he was—the two men would never have broken off the engagement!

Especially Zhao Hongji from the State-Assisting General’s residence.

He was the angriest!

His family was desperately short of silver, so why had he married Shen Qingbai instead of holding onto Shen Qinglan, that golden treasure?

Wasn’t it because Shen Qingbai was beautiful and had captured his heart?

Now he realized he had been hoodwinked, throwing away a gem and picking up a worthless stone!

The more the two thought about it, the angrier they got.

Finally, they couldn’t hold it in any longer and both turned to their respective spouses, asking the same question:

“Husband/Wife, was the painter who made Shen Qinglan’s portrait bribed by you?!”

Even though Zhao Hongji and Fan Zixu were not exactly outstanding young talents—Fan Zixu was even a useless playboy—it didn’t mean they were truly stupid.

After all, most men in this world fall for a beauty trap not because they are easily fooled, but because they are willing to be deceived by beauty, happy to lose themselves in sweet pleasures and carnal desires.

Truly gentle and upright young women and men would never secretly seduce their elder brother’s fiancé.

Both men actually knew their spouses were not kind-hearted people, so at this point, they did not hesitate to think the worst of them.

Because admitting they had been shortsighted was harder on their pride than blaming their spouses for being malicious.

This enraged Shen Qingbai and Shen Qingshuang, whose attempts to show off had backfired and driven a wedge between them and their husbands, making them gnash their teeth in fury!

They knew their Second Brother was good-looking, but they had only thought he was slightly better-looking than them—otherwise, why would they have brought their husbands back to show off, only to end up shooting themselves in the foot?

Now they clearly understood that men and women had different tastes in looks.

They certainly wouldn’t admit to having played tricks. Instead, they bottled up their grievances and tried to shift the blame.

“Husbands, what are you saying? How could we do something so shameless? Besides, the legal mother runs the household strictly—how could we pull such a stunt under her nose?”

“Back then, if Second Brother’s portrait was poor, perhaps it was because he was spoiled and offended the painter…”

Their concubine mothers had told them that men mostly liked gentle, kind young women and men. If they exposed Second Brother’s bad temper, their husbands would surely change their minds and hate him.

The two silently plotted.

But that was true only in most cases. When beauty reached a certain level, even a useless, venomous person could be adored.

Especially for men like Zhao Hongji and Fan Zixu, who were greedy for good looks.

Hearing this, the two men immediately retorted angrily: “Impossible! Your Second Brother clearly looks simple and kind—how is he spoiled? You must have played tricks back then, both bribing the painter and ruining your Second Brother’s reputation!”

Shen Qingshuang: …

Shen Qingbai: …

That’s not what you two said before!

Back then, you clearly said: “A kind heart is reflected in a beautiful face; Frost/White is so beautiful, so she must be kind-hearted. Your Second Brother’s reputation is so bad, so he can’t be a good person!”