Shen Jiaqing strode out of the Prince’s Mansion and boarded his carriage. He could no longer maintain his composure, and his handsome face twisted with rage. Emitting a cold aura, he barked at the servant driving the carriage, “Back to the manor!”
The servant was so terrified he became as quiet as a cicada in winter. His hands trembled on the reins, but he couldn’t help but wonder. Judging by the Heir’s expression, he must not have gotten what he wanted from Prince Chun.
But what could a “straw-bag” Prince possibly have done to drive the Heir into such a fury? Furthermore, wasn’t Prince Chun supposed to be marrying the eldest Miss of their house? Under no circumstances should he be giving the Heir a hard time at a moment like this. The servant racked his brain but couldn’t understand. He could only guess that the Prince was a fool who didn’t know how to curry favor with his future brother-in-law.
When Shen Jiaqing returned home, his anger had not dissipated. If it were any other Prince, he wouldn’t be so enraged; the problem was that the person who humiliated him was Prince Chun—a straw-bag Prince he had never respected and assumed he could control.
Knowing her brother had returned, Shen Mingya went to his courtyard, supported by a maid. She wore a tender yellow dress, her figure as graceful as a weak willow swaying in the wind. Seeing her brother’s gloomy face, she felt uneasy. With anticipation in her beautiful eyes, she asked cautiously, “Brother, did the Emperor agree to the marriage decree?”
She knit her brows slightly. Given Prince Chun’s affection for her, she shouldn’t have been worried. Yet, for some reason, she had felt inexplicably unsettled these past two days, as if an accident were about to happen. Her slender fingers instinctively stroked her lower abdomen. Until the decree arrived, she could not be at peace. Only by marrying Prince Chun could she protect the child of her beloved, Xiuxian.
Seeing his sister, Shen Jiaqing’s anger softened slightly. He said, “The Emperor has always doted on Prince Chun. He hasn’t refused any of the Prince’s requests. He has agreed to the decree, but he wants to choose a lucky day before issuing it.”
Shen Mingya was confused and a bit dissatisfied. “It’s just a decree; why select a day for it? A lucky day should be chosen for the wedding ceremony; why be so troublesome now?”
Thinking of Han Ze’s words, Shen Jiaqing’s rage flared again. He snorted, “A mere bunch of mountain outlaws who happened to win the world. Their way of doing things is neither fish nor fowl…”
Shen Mingya jumped and interrupted him hurriedly, “Brother!”
Shen Jiaqing pursed his lips and stopped, but his expression remained dark.
Shen Mingya understood her brother’s frustration, but now that the Han family ruled the world, any dissatisfaction had to be hidden well. She knit her brows and said mournfully, “Brother, it’s not just you who is indignant. I am also full of resentment and shame. Thinking that I must marry that illiterate, mud-legged fool of a Prince makes me feel humiliated. I am a noble lady of a great house; if the Han family hadn’t won the world, how could a man like Han Ze ever marry me? But for the sake of the child and Xiuxian, I can endure it all.”
Shen Jiaqing felt sad for his sister but had no choice but to relay Han Ze’s words. “The fool Prince’s children heard he wants to marry a Princess Consort and are worried you’ll abuse them. They demand you write a guarantee—guaranteeing you won’t abuse them.”
Shen Mingya’s eyes went wide, and her fingers clenched instinctively. She lost her composure and asked, “Brother, what did you say?”
Shen Jiaqing’s face was grim. “You didn’t hear wrong. The fool Prince actually asked you to write a guarantee that you won’t abuse those little brats.”
Shen Mingya’s delicate body swayed. She said in disbelief, “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe Han Ze would treat me like this.”
Han Ze loved her so much; how could he do something so difficult and humiliating to her?
Seeing her state, Shen Jiaqing felt a pang of pity. “I heard it with my own ears; how could it be a mistake?”
Tears pooled in Shen Mingya’s eyes as she grabbed her brother’s arm. “Brother, I want to see Han Ze. I have to see him. I cannot write this guarantee! If I write it, how can I ever face anyone again? Those noble ladies are experts at sucking up to the powerful and trampling on the weak; if they find out, they will mock me. Even if I become the Princess Consort, I’ll be a laughingstock.”
Shen Jiaqing sighed helplessly. “Mingya, you must write this guarantee.”
Shen Mingya looked at him with dissatisfaction.
Shen Jiaqing explained, “Given Prince Chun’s love for you, we will simply claim that you wrote this guarantee of your own accord. There is a world of difference between you writing it voluntarily and the Prince forcing you to write it. If you write it proactively, it shows you never intended to harm the children and that you have a kind heart. You’ll gain a reputation for purity and kindness with the Emperor and Empress. Because they dote on the Prince, they will love you as well—and they will love the child in your womb.”
Shen Mingya froze, letting her tears fall. After a long pause, she said, “You’re right.”
Even if only for the sake of the child, she had to write it. But her heart still felt stifled.
Shen Jiaqing added, “In the future… the court will be facing internal and external troubles. The Emperor and Crown Prince will be busy with state affairs and have no time for a silly Prince. That fool will be obsessed with you; with a few sweet words, you can have him speak well for you before the Emperor and Empress. Within the Prince’s Mansion, you can do whatever you wish. Even those two little brats will be yours to discipline as you see fit.”
Shen Mingya’s eyes flickered. Her child. She instinctively stroked her abdomen. After a moment, she whispered, “You’re right. I’ll listen to you.”
…
In the palace, Nanny Liu whispered into the Empress’s ear. After hearing the news, the Empress was enraged. “Outrageous! Who gave her the audacity to strike the palms of my grandchildren?”
Nanny Liu stood respectfully to the side, her face also full of anger.
The Empress’s face was dark. She said sharply, “Go and seize that wench for me! I want to interrogate her personally to see how she found the courage to humiliate my grandchildren.”
Nanny Liu obeyed and withdrew.
Once she was gone, the Empress hurriedly instructed a young eunuch, “Bring the Little Prince and the Little County Princess to me. I want to see their hands.”
Just as she spoke, a maid entered, leading Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu.
The Empress stood up and pulled them into her arms, saying distressfully, “Quickly, let Grandmother see your hands.”
The siblings held out their small hands. Seeing Grandmother’s worry, Xiaoxing said with a smile, “Grandmother, our hands are fine. Dad had a doctor look at them and apply ointment. Don’t worry.”
Looking at their still red and swollen palms, the Empress wished she could skin that old woman alive. She couldn’t even bear to say a harsh word to her grandchildren, yet that old hag dared to hit them? She frowned. “How could I not worry? Don’t worry, Grandmother will settle this for you. I will definitely punish that woman severely.”
Xiaoxing said, “Grandmother, we’ve already punished Nanny Xing.”
The Empress looked at them in surprise. “How did you punish her?”
Xiaozhu said in a crisp voice, “Dad said however she treated us, we should treat her the same. We hit her palms and made her go hungry…”
The Empress snorted. “At least your father knows right from wrong. But simply hitting her palms and making her go hungry isn’t enough. You are the grandchildren of the Emperor—members of the Royal Family. How precious are you? That woman is just a slave; how can she compare? She must be punished severely to slaughter the chicken to warn the monkeys, so the other servants never dare to look down on you again.”
Xiaoxing said, “We’ll listen to Grandmother.”
Xiaozhu pouted and suddenly said, “Grandmother, I don’t like Miss Shen becoming our stepmother.”
The Empress’s eyes sharpened, but she remained tender and warm as she looked at her grandchildren. “Tell Grandmother, why don’t you like Miss Shen becoming your stepmother?”
Did that Miss Shen do something?
Xiaoxing glanced at Xiaozhu, but Xiaozhu didn’t care. Her small face was full of grievance. “The eunuchs and maids in the mansion are all saying that once Dad marries Miss Shen as the Princess Consort, he won’t want us anymore. Even though Dad said he’d have her write a guarantee not to abuse us, I still don’t like her.”
The Empress’s gaze turned cold, but she said gently, “With your Imperial Grandfather and me here, no one can bully or abuse you.”
Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu leaned into their grandmother’s arms. The Empress affectionately stroked their small heads and teased them, “In the future, stay in the palace with Grandmother. Since your father wants to marry that Miss Shen, we’ll just abandon him, how about that?”
The children gave an “Ah!” of shock, their faces full of conflict. That’s Dad; how can we abandon him?
The Empress asked with a laugh, “What’s wrong?”
Xiaozhu twiddled her fingers and stammered, “B-but Dad is very stupid. If we don’t want him, what if the eunuchs and maids in the mansion bully him?”
Xiaoxing looked at the Empress and hugged her arm, acting spoiled. “Grandmother, Dad is a bit stupid, but he loves us very much and is very filial to you. Let’s keep him, otherwise, he’ll be so lonely.”
No matter what their father was like, he was their father. They loved him; how could they abandon him?
The Empress suppressed a laugh and feigned a stern look. “But didn’t he forget you for Miss Shen? He didn’t even know you were being beaten; he’s so useless. Let’s not want him anymore, okay?”
Xiaozhu and Xiaoxing looked at each other. They didn’t like Miss Shen as a stepmother, but they couldn’t bear to leave their father.
Xiaozhu hugged the Empress’s arm. “Grandmother, I can’t bear to leave Dad. Let’s keep him, okay?”
Xiaoxing said shyly, “I can’t bear to leave him either.”
The Empress burst into laughter. “Alright, for the sake of Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu, we’ll keep him. Who told my little stars to be so attached to him?”
The children finally smiled. Xiaozhu said currying favor, “Grandmother is the best.”
The Empress asked, “Is Grandmother better, or is Dad better?”
Xiaozhu said hurriedly, “Both are good!”
The Empress feigned sadness. “So in Xiaozhu’s heart, I’m only the same as your father?”
Xiaozhu’s face turned red. Grandmother is so bad!
The Empress laughed. “I’ll stop teasing you. Let the imperial physician look at your hands.”
…
By the time Nanny Liu brought Nanny Xing into the palace, the woman had been tormented until she was half-dead. She was barely breathing.
The Empress looked at her state and was speechless. How exactly did Aze punish this woman? She lost interest in punishing her further and simply had her carried away to avoid the “bad luck” of her presence.
In the afternoon, Han Ze arrived at the palace to pick up the two little ones. The Empress waved him off. “Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu will stay with me in the palace from now on. You go back and coax your Miss Shen.”
The children grew anxious. Though they wanted to stay with Grandmother, they couldn’t bear to leave their father. They wanted to stay with Grandmother by day and return to the Prince’s Mansion by night!
Han Ze stood dazed for a long while before finding his voice. “Miss Shen hasn’t married into the mansion yet.”
The Empress said crossly, “Do you mean to say that once she marries in, you won’t care about Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu, and you won’t care about your Dad and me? You’ll only care about coaxing that Miss Shen?”
Han Ze grew frantic, his face turning red as he stammered, “I… I don’t…” He couldn’t finish a complete sentence.
Seeing him like this, the Empress was both angry and pained. She lamented, “How did I give birth to such a nemesis like you? I only hope that Miss Shen is a good woman.”
If she isn’t, I don’t mind making her disappear.
Han Ze said simple-mindedly, “Mom, Miss Shen is very good.”
The Empress teased, “How so? Tell Mom.”
Han Ze said bluntly, “Miss Shen doesn’t love gold or silver; she only loves flowers and plants. If I marry her, no one will fight us for the gold and silver in the house. She’s also helped me a lot, and she wrote a guarantee saying she won’t abuse Xiaozhu and Xiaoxing…”
“She actually wrote a guarantee for you?” The Empress automatically ignored the rest of his words.
Han Ze nodded. “Heir Shen delivered the guarantee just as I was coming here.” He took it out and handed it to the Empress.
After reading it, the Empress said with a smile, “Your father’s decree hasn’t even arrived, yet she wrote this in advance. It seems this Miss Shen is quite eager to become your Princess Consort.”
I only hope she truly wants to marry Aze, and doesn’t have other motives.
Han Ze’s handsome face turned red, as if he were feeling bashful. Seeing her son like this, the Empress sighed softly. She looked at her grandchildren and saw that since their father arrived, the smiles hadn’t left their faces. She shook her head and laughed; no matter how close she was as a grandmother, she couldn’t compare to their own father.
…
Han Ze took the children out of the palace. Sitting in the carriage, he said, “I thought your Grandmother really wasn’t going to let you come home. It’s so boring being in the mansion alone.”
Xiaoxing pouted and said in a huff, “You have Miss Shen to be your Princess Consort; it doesn’t really matter if we come home or not.”
Xiaozhu was also unhappy. “Miss Shen will give you new babies. Once you have them, how will you ever think of us?” She lowered her head and wouldn’t look at her father.
Han Ze said hurriedly, “Didn’t we agree? As long as Miss Shen guaranteed not to abuse you, you’d agree to her being my Princess Consort?”
Xiaozhu shot him a look. “We agreed, but we still don’t like her.”
Xiaoxing nodded. “Sister is right. We agree to you marrying her, but we still don’t like her.”
Han Ze: “…”
Xiaoxing said, “It depends on whose side you’re on.”
Xiaozhu emphasized, “If you’re on Miss Shen’s side, we’ll go live with Grandmother and never come back. Anyway, you don’t want us.”
“I do want you!”
The siblings turned their heads away, not believing him. Han Ze scratched his head and coaxed, “How about this: I’ll take you out to play tomorrow?”
Their eyes lit up. Since arriving in the capital, they hadn’t been out to play yet.
“Yes, yes!” they cried.
Xiaozhu pouted. “For the sake of the trip, we won’t make things hard for you.”
Han Ze gave a silly laugh. “When we came to the capital, didn’t we say we’d enjoy a good life together? How could I ever not want you?”
The children pursed their lips and said nothing.
…
The next morning after breakfast, the three of them packed up and set out. Sitting in the carriage, the siblings pulled back the curtain to look curiously at the busy streets. Passing a jewelry store, Han Ze saw the shiny gold plaque and his eyes lit up. “There must be many gold ornaments in there. Shall we go look?”
Xiaozhu’s eyes also sparkled. Back in the village, the village chief’s daughter wore a pair of gold earrings, and all the kids were jealous, including Xiaozhu. In the capital, although she had a mountain of gold earrings, necklaces, and hairpieces—all of them much prettier than the chief’s daughter’s—she still wanted a pair like that.
At the jewelry store, Xiaozhu ran ahead, shouting, “Dad, hurry up!”
In her haste, she accidentally bumped into someone. She gave an “Ouch!” and clutched her head. Just as she was about to speak, a maid nearby barked, “Where did this wild brat come from? If you’ve hurt our Miss, you’ll pay!”
Shen Mingya was standing nearby, looking at Xiaozhu with displeasure. She felt the girl was too reckless. Looking at her clothes, she didn’t look like a commoner’s child, yet her upbringing was so poor. However, cautious of her own status, she didn’t scold her directly to avoid offending anyone.
Of course, she didn’t stop her maid from barking at the girl either. After all, if the girl had bumped into her abdomen and hurt her child, what then? The girl deserved a lesson to prevent such recklessness in the future.
Xiaozhu was stunned by the scolding. She said softly, “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
The maid wouldn’t let it go and continued to curse, “This is a jewelry store! Is this a place for a little girl like you? Get out!”
Xiaozhu bit her lip, looking at her unhappily.
Han Ze stepped forward and asked, “Little Zhu, what’s wrong?”
Shen Mingya froze. She hadn’t expected Han Ze to be here.
Xiaozhu pointed at Shen Mingya and said pitifully, “I bumped into someone.”
Only then did Han Ze “notice” Shen Mingya. He gave a silly laugh. “Miss Shen!”
Shen Mingya curtsied. “Prince Chun!”
Xiaozhu looked at Shen Mingya, her dark eyes wide. She pointed at her and said, “So you are Miss Shen?”
Shen Mingya hadn’t expected this ill-mannered brat to be Han Ze’s child. For a moment, her body stiffened and her face turned pale.
Xiaozhu didn’t care about her reaction. She said bluntly, “Dad, I accidentally bumped into Miss Shen. Her maid called me a ‘wild brat’ and told me to get out.”
Shen Mingya jumped, her face turning even whiter. She said hurriedly, “Prince, you know my health has always been poor. My maid was worried for my health, which is why she spoke out of turn…”
The maid ducked her head in terror. She never imagined this “wild brat” was the Little County Princess of Prince Chun’s Mansion. But then she thought of her Miss marrying into the mansion; the Prince loved her Miss, so surely he wouldn’t make things hard for them over a little girl.
Xiaoxing said from the side, “My sister is only five. She’s so small and you’re so tall. Even if you’re in poor health, a tiny bump couldn’t have done anything to you, could it?”
Shen Mingya swayed, tears pooling in her eyes. She remained silent, looking as if she had suffered a monumental grievance.
Xiaozhu snorted. “Dad, whose side are you on?”
Han Ze looked at Shen Mingya. He seemed frantic as he whispered, “Miss Shen, can you help me?”
Shen Mingya was stunned, looking at him in confusion.
Han Ze added, “Miss Shen, Xiaozhu and Xiaoxing are afraid that once I marry you, I won’t want them anymore. Can you help me?”
Shen Mingya stared at him blankly. She didn’t understand why he was saying this. That brat bumped into her; shouldn’t he be scolding the girl? Why ask for help? And help with what? She suddenly had a very bad premonition.
Han Ze said, “That girl is your maid. She just insulted Xiaozhu. Help me by scolding her—let Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu see that I’m on their side! That way they won’t think I’m abandoning them. If you do that, it shows you’re on their side too, and they’ll start to like you.”
Shen Mingya: “…”
That brat bumped into me! Why should I be the one scolding my own maid?
Her face was ashen. She complained inwardly: He really is a fool; his mind has zero logic or reason. Even though he likes me, he doesn’t even know how to please me.
Furthermore… who cares if those two brats like me?
The maid looked at Han Ze in disbelief. Doesn’t he love my Miss? Why is he ordering a scolding?
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152