Chapter 102

Chapter 102

As everyone knows, when a guy's out in the world, it's all about loyalty.

For rich slackers like Shen Huaizhi, they don't give a damn about money or your status or background. When making friends, what matters is loyalty, sincerity.

Sounds dumb and naive, but for some people, friendship weighs a ton.

Though they'd already regarded Han Zhang as a good brother before, it was only now that they truly took him into their hearts, willing to go through hell or high water for him, even if it cost them their lives!

After his usual daily round of banter with them.

Han Zhang, once school let out, turned down his classmates' invites and prepared to head home to tell Shen Qinglan about his archery contest agreement with Kang Zhanxun, so his husband could come see him look all cool and impressive.

But he never even got the chance to bring it up.

The moment he stepped through the door, he saw Shen Qinglan seated in the hall, his face like ice, his eyes blazing with anger, looking absolutely livid.

"Babe, what happened? Why are you so pissed? Tell me everything."

Han Zhang hurried forward, speaking in a gentle, concerned tone.

This was way more sincere than when he'd comforted Shen Huaizhi and the others earlier—brothers just can't compete with your spouse, after all.

"What else could it be? It's that Fifth Aunt again..."

Shen Qinglan didn't try to hide it and immediately spilled the reason he was so mad.

The whole thing was pretty simple, really.

Lately, Han Zhang had been busy studying at the Imperial Academy, socializing with classmates, and making connections.

Meanwhile, Shen Qinglan hadn't been idle at home either. Besides managing the shops that came with his dowry, he'd been constantly overseeing the flower shop and teahouse business that Han Zhang had come up with.

The flower shop had opened long ago, since Han Zhang had already cultivated all sorts of exotic blooms early on, and flowers don't wait for anyone.

But the teahouse was different.

Interior and exterior decoration, chefs and waiters, storytellers—everything required careful preparation. They also had to find educated scholars who could write scripts and turn Han Zhang's novel story ideas into actual written form.

With one thing and another, and a million little details, the teahouse only officially opened a few days ago.

"Our teahouse has those breads, cakes, ice cream... all sorts of fancy new pastries you came up with, plus those new story scripts you provided. Within just a few days, word spread and business was booming."

"But as they say, 'The tall tree catches the wind.' Didn't Fifth Aunt marry into the city? When she learned the teahouse was our establishment, she kept coming around trying to get something for nothing. Mooching food and drinks was bad enough, but now she even wants her husband's lazy, good-for-nothing younger brother to become the teahouse's manager!"

The more Shen Qinglan spoke, the angrier he grew. He picked up his teacup and drank several mouthfuls before barely managing to suppress his fury:

"What kind of guy is that brother-in-law of hers anyway? Forget reading account books—he's practically illiterate. Obviously, I said no. But today, she actually stormed up to the teahouse entrance and threw a full-blown fit, rolling around on the ground, drawing a crowd and making a total spectacle of us in public!"

The last time he'd seen people this shameless was back when he was a kid, with those distant relatives on his father's side.

Qiao Dong and the others standing nearby saw how upset he was and quickly chimed in one by one.

Qiao Dong said indignantly: "That Fifth Aunt is such a savage! She lunged and grabbed at him—she nearly tore the young master's robes right off!"

Qiao Xi held up a silk handkerchief, revealing a jade hairpin broken clean in two, and said with distress: "The robes are one thing, but the jade hairpin you gave the young master—it got knocked to the ground and shattered..."

Qiao Nan then brought up old grievances: "You wouldn't know this, sir, but these past days, Fifth Aunt has been bringing three or four freeloaders to the teahouse every day, eating and drinking for free. The staff couldn't do anything to stop her."

Qiao Bei chimed in, furious: "The young master's been putting up with it for ages out of respect for her being an elder. Today, when he merely refused her unreasonable demand, she actually pointed at him in public and cursed him out, saying he was jealous and possessive, that after months of marriage he still hadn't conceived, and that he wouldn't allow you to take concubines..."

"Even more absurdly, she said she wanted to send her husband's little sister over to be your honored concubine, sir!"

All four said in unison, defending their master: "The young master fainted from anger on the spot!"

In truth, their young master hadn't fainted, but exaggerating a bit would make the master (Han Zhang) feel more sympathetic.

Shen Qinglan understood the intent of his personal attendants and immediately clutched his chest, starting to fake it, whimpering pitifully: "Husband~"

He looked so pitiful, like he had a belly full of grievances he couldn't even put into words.

Han Zhang knew these words were surely exaggerated, but who could blame him—his husband was so handsome that even his dramatic little act just seemed cute and adorable.

Besides, that Fifth Aunt was already a piece of work he couldn't stand. Did he even need to say whose side he was on?

Han Zhang immediately put on a stern expression, taking his husband's side: "Fifth Aunt really is getting more out of line every day! Don't worry, husband—I'll make sure she gives you an explanation for this."

"As for all that nonsense she said, don't take it to heart. If you can't get pregnant, it's my fault as your husband. Besides, it's perfectly normal for a couple to have no baby news in the first year or two of marriage. We've only been married a few months—what's the rush?"

"As for the matter of concubines... I promised you a lifetime of just the two of us, and I'll never break that promise. Whatever rumors or gossip come from outside, just let them go in one ear and out the other. Don't believe a word of it."

With that, he raised his hand and pressed his warm palm against his husband's chest, rubbing slow circles.

Shen Qinglan's chest pain was totally fake, and being rubbed like this, he immediately turned red with embarrassment.

Husband really is... so shameless, right in broad daylight, with the maids and servants all standing right there!

Qiao Dong and the others were sharp. Seeing their masters being all lovey-dovey, they smiled and bowed:

"Young master, the kitchen just made some pastries that smell amazing. We'll go fetch them—please enjoy them, sir and master."

With that, they quickly slipped out, carefully closing the door behind them.

Only then did Shen Qinglan relax his expression, nestling softly into Han Zhang's arms, continuing to badmouth Fifth Aunt:

"Husband, I do trust you... but Fifth Aunt is an elder after all. We can't exactly just slam the door in her face. If she really does force someone into our household, what are we supposed to do?"

And then she'd pull some dramatic "you've ruined my reputation" stunt—even if it didn't work, it would still be a pain in the ass.

After all, she's family. If he was too harsh, it would reflect badly on Han Zhang's reputation.

Han Zhang laughed at this: "Don't worry, husband. She may be our elder, but she has elders above her too—I'll send someone back to the village with a letter, asking Grandpa and Grandma to step in. They'll go raise hell at her in-laws' house. An eye for an eye!"

With so many people in the Han family, why had he been the first to use his Power to help Grandpa Han and Grandma Han fix up their health?

Besides the fact that the old couple genuinely treated him well, it was exactly for situations like this—relatives and elders acting shameless.

"Sorry you had to deal with all this because of me." He gently stroked Shen Qinglan's hair, his tone turning serious. "As for Fifth Aunt, I'll deal with this fast. I won't let her bother you again."

He'd asked his mother to look into the circumstances of Fifth Aunt's birth. He wondered how much she'd found out by now. With the woman already jumping right into their faces, if he didn't deal with this toxic person soon, who knew what trouble she'd stir up next.

The main reason Shen Qinglan had ratted her out was simply to see where his husband stood.

Now that Han Zhang had believed him without hesitation, taken his side, and even offered to personally put an elder in her place to vent his anger, he was completely satisfied and overjoyed.

"Mmm, I'll do whatever you say... It's just such a shame the jade hairpin broke like this. You carved it for me yourself."

Shen Qinglan stared at the broken hairpin half-wrapped in the silk handkerchief, his eyes full of heartbreak and regret.

Even if my husband carves me another one, it won't be the same as this one.

Han Zhang couldn't bear to see his husband's disappointment. He picked up the broken piece and examined it closely, then said in a gentle, comforting tone: "The crack isn't too severe. We can have it inlaid with gold and silver, reworked into a cloud pattern with silver wrapping the jade. It'll look quite distinctive when worn."

Well, that's that, then.

Shen Qinglan nodded obediently, albeit with some regret: "Then let's go with the silver cloud pattern. I like that style."

"Alright." Han Zhang smiled and planted a light kiss on his cheek, then added: "In a few days, the Imperial Academy will hold its annual archery and horsemanship examination. Kang Zhanxun and I have agreed to compete against each other. Would my dear care to come watch your husband draw his bow and race his horse in all his glory?"

"Pfft—'all your glory'? You're getting more shameless by the day, husband!"

Shen Qinglan burst out laughing and leaned into his shoulder, then immediately asked with eager anticipation: "Can I really go to the Academy to watch the examination?"

"Not for anything else, but the archery and horsemanship exam, that's fine. I asked my classmates at the Academy—every year, this exam is a prime opportunity for students to make a name for themselves. At that time, they set up a dedicated viewing area, and family members of the students are all welcome to attend."

With that, Han Zhang looked slightly puzzled: "Did Second Brother never take you all to watch before?"

"No, he didn't! It must be because he's no match for others and was afraid of embarrassing himself, so he kept it from Mother and me." Shen Qinglan wrung his hands in frustration. "Second Brother really is... he's made me miss out on so many years of excitement for nothing."

Han Zhang let out a low chuckle: "Second Brother does care about saving face, after all."

"Too bad he's the one who ends up making a fool of himself every time. Ugh!"

Shen Qinglan was exasperated by his brother's unreliability.

Completely forgetting that he himself was just as bad.

After a bout of hand-wringing, his attention drifted elsewhere, and a spark of restless excitement glimmered in his eyes:

"If all the students' family members are going, that means I'll run into quite a few old acquaintances from my days before marriage! I'll have to pick out a nice outfit and get all dressed up, so everyone can see how I look these days."

"Oddly enough, ever since I got married, I've grown more and more handsome. Mother says I've simply reached the age where I've finally grown into my looks... It's truly remarkable—though I suppose it's also just my natural beauty!"

"Back then, people were always secretly comparing their looks to mine. Now that they see me again, won't their eyes turn green with envy?"

Success is meaningless if you don't show it off.

Likewise, having prospered, there's a certain lack of satisfaction in not parading oneself before one's old fake friends.

Now, at last, he'd finally caught another chance to show off.

Han Zhang watched his husband, whose tail was practically sticking straight up in the air, his eyes brimming with smiles as he played along: "My dear is more than just naturally beautiful—he's absolutely stunning, a beauty that could bring down kingdoms."

"And my husband shines as bright as the sun and moon—the finest man in all the world!"

Shen Qinglan beamed with joy at the praise, his smile radiant as the summer sun.

He truly was a young lad so easy to coax.