Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I don’t know what Liu Anhe said to her mother, but from that day on, her mother guarded against me like I was a thief. Until the day I married, she never let Liu Anhe set foot in my little courtyard again.

Weddings in great households really were different. They weren’t like when my brother married his wife, when we simply fetched Sister Meizi from the neighboring village, everyone had a lively banquet, and that was that.

Before the rooster even crowed, I was dragged out of bed to have my hair and makeup done. Layer after layer of powder was brushed onto my face, and aunties I knew and didn’t know all came over to say a few auspicious words to me.

Being sleepy was still bearable. What was unbearable was that they wouldn’t let me eat, saying it would be inconvenient if the bride needed the privy. Just when I was so hungry I could have started gnawing on people, Shen Sui’an finally arrived. He secretly slipped me a sachet and said, “There’s still a lot to get through. Eat a little in the sedan chair later.”

The sachet was filled with tiny buns. There were soft white flour buns, and there were crisp-baked ones stuffed full of mutton. One bite, and the fat mingled with the fragrance of the dough. At last, my stomach stopped growling.

When I got out of the sedan chair, his hand held mine firmly, and my heart settled a little more.

If there was one regret about our wedding, it would have to be the wedding night.

I had seen the bridal instruction pictures before, but I had never imagined that when I saw the real thing, it would be so ugly-and hurt so much.

I tried hard not to be afraid, but my body simply refused to listen, shrinking back again and again. When Shen Sui’an saw me looking like I was about to cry, he gritted his teeth and pricked his finger for a bit of blood.

“Forget it, forget it. You’re just a seventeen-year-old little girl. I suppose I can wait another two years.”

After saying that, he hugged me and took two deep breaths, then rolled out of bed to take a bath. When he came back, his whole body was giving off a chill. He stayed far away from me, practically curling up in the corner of the bed to sleep.

The next morning, the handkerchief stained with blood from his finger was taken away. My mother-in-law looked at me with such a kind smile. I more or less knew we were deceiving everyone, but it truly had hurt too much. Better to wait another two years.

My days at the Shen Mansion were very easy. Shen Sui’an truly knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. Zhuangyuan Tower’s pork knuckle, Xianshi Mansion’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, the soy-braised duck heads from a tea stall outside the city, even the pickled greens an auntie made herself in some out-of-the-way alley-there wasn’t a delicacy he couldn’t find.

What was even more amazing was that he often didn’t have to pay when he ate. Some chefs would receive one or two suggestions from him on how to improve a dish and be so happy they looked as if they’d picked up gold. But if you actually asked him to cook, even the big yellow dog in the courtyard wouldn’t be willing to eat it.

Aside from food, there wasn’t a thing he didn’t know about the acrobatics in the pleasure quarters, the tricks at the market, or the latest novelties in town.

At first, when he brought me along, I felt guilty. No matter how much my parents doted on me, they had still taught me all the proper principles. Once a woman married, she ought to serve her parents-in-law and manage the household. Who spent every day following her husband around eating and roaming everywhere?

But my mother-in-law chuckled and said, “With An’er’s temperament, from the time he was ten, I knew he was destined to enjoy life until the day he died. Why do you think I agreed to let your Liu Family swap the bride? Wasn’t it because I was afraid he’d marry someone too ambitious and they wouldn’t be able to live together? You’re just right. It’s only food and fun. Our Shen Family can afford that much.”

When my mother-in-law said they could afford it, she meant it. That very day, she gave me a large box of banknotes. By the time I finished counting them, I had long forgotten all that talk about how it wasn’t good to rely only on the family. This box alone was enough to feed me until my grandson’s grandson.

A person could endure hardship, but if blessings were right there, there was no need to go looking for suffering.

The only person in the household who didn’t quite get along with me was probably my eldest sister-in-law.

The Old Marquis had passed away several years earlier, and Shen Sui’an’s elder brother had inherited the title. But since my mother-in-law was still alive, the family could not be divided.

My eldest sister-in-law was a true noble young lady. Every movement and gesture of hers followed proper rules and order. She attended on my mother-in-law flawlessly, from paying respects to serving her daily needs, so she rather looked down on how Shen Sui’an and I were growing more and more alike.

Given her background, she would never deliberately make things difficult for me. It was just that whenever she found the chance, she would correct my upbringing and manners-especially during meals. She would stand beside my mother-in-law to serve her food, so as the younger daughter-in-law, I could hardly remain seated. Yet the cooks in the household had all been carefully selected by Shen Sui’an, and every meal made me drool with longing.

My mother-in-law clearly preferred the whole family sitting down together in cheerful harmony to eat, but for some reason, she never helped me.

Until one day, I happened to run into my eldest sister-in-law pacing back and forth in the garden. That air of anxiety was something I had never seen on her face before. Standing before her was Cuizhu, the most favored maid at her side. After my sister-in-law paced for a long while, she finally said,

“If… if I had your face threaded and raised you to concubine status, would you be willing? You know my temperament. In the future, even if you give birth to the eldest son, I will still trust you and make sure you and your child have a good future.”

The more she spoke, the lower her voice became. “As for the eldest young master, he is a good man. He would respect you as well.”

After hearing this, Cuizhu dropped to her knees with a thud. “Miss, why torment yourself like this? You and Master are still young. You will have children. The Old Madam and Master haven’t said anything, so why must you take the initiative to push him away? Doesn’t your heart ache?”

My eldest sister-in-law fell silent after hearing that, but her face was still full of sorrow.