Chapter 561 A crazy ride.
When Su Wan and Lin Yan arrived at the dining room the first thing they saw was Shen Zizhen climbing Shen Junxi like he was some sort of tall pole while Shen Junxi fought with the three cats that were fighting to the death for the sake of their master. Surprised but not shocked by their antics, Lin Yan stood in front of Su Wan though he knew the two uncles wouldn't let her get hurt, what if one of the cats slipped and made a mess? It was better to be safer than sorry, after all, he was going to be a father and he might as well take proper care of his wife while she was carrying his child, he didn't want another repetition of what happened this morning, when the memory of Su Wan falling on the tombstone crossed his head, his entire body went taut with tension.
If they were any less lucky than they were this morning, then maybe instead of this joyous ruckus they all might have been living with self blame and guilt. It was pure luck that their baby was able to make it out alive from that accident even after being jolted like that.
" Alright that's enough!" snapped Eldest Aunt as she glared at her husband and brother in law in a whip like voice that cracked at the air, with such an intensity that the entire surroundings went quiet in seconds. " Can't you see that Wan Wan is here, what if your brawling got her hurt? What are we going to do huh? I am telling if you two so much as startled her, I will decapitate your body and hand your head on a plaque."
As soon as Madam Zhu said, the entire chatter stopped and everyone in the family turned around and their eyes zoomed on Su Wan or it was better to say on her stomach.
Su Wan knew that this pregnancy was an extremely significant thing for the family because this child was not just the first grandson or granddaughter of the family but now that she was pregnant, the road that was blocked for her husbands was now opened and they can now begin to imagine having a child with her in the near future. This would probably explain why Lin Yu, Lin Rui, Lin Chen and Lin Jing were looking absolutely ecstatic, their eyes were shimmering with glee.
Lin Chen was the first to react, he jumped to his feet and strolled over to them before slapping Lin Yan on his back. " I knew you had it in brother, but you sure were sly to cut the line like that," then he quickly kissed Su Wan and artfully dodged the shoe that was thrown at the back of his head courtesy of Shen Junxi. " With our gene pool, this child is going to be a sure charmer no matter what the gender!" Then all of a sudden the two of them were surrounded by the entire family and Madam Zhu along with the rest of the women were squealing excitedly as they congratulated Su Wan one by one.
Lin Jing raised his hand and shouted happily. "I claim to be his or her eldest daddy! Does anyone want to fight me?"
Lin Yu grunted from the side. " We have to go back in time and start fighting in the womb of our mother if we want to fight that claim."
" I am going to be a dad!" said Lin Chen excitedly as he clapped his hands and yelled. " if it's a boy, I will teach him everything he needs to know about charming his wife but if it's a Girl——" he sneered " the Boys better stay ten meters away from my baby girl!"
Lin Rui shook his head. " You sure are going to get our son in trouble brother, if you teach him the way you flirt. I am afraid with your skills his wife might run away." Then he gave Su Wan a quick hug and said, " Congratulations, Wife."
" hey, my flirty lines are absolutely perfect, you hear me?" said Lin Chen with a drawling note in his voice then he turned to Su Wan with a wink, before smiling wickedly. When she shook her head and warned him not to say anything when he was surrounded by his brothers and her uncles but her third husband has always been a flirtatious little shit and he just had to open his mouth, " I mean my wife is like a haunted house, because the second I go inside her I end up screaming, how the hell is this poor flirty line?"
As usual, he was hit by her uncle who has jogged up to them.
" Wow being compared to a haunted house, I —— I am beyond flattered," said Su Wan with a blank expression, three black lines dropping on her forehead.
" Don't worry about third brother, Wan Wan." Lin Yu limped over to her and patted her stomach gently. " I will teach that guy the art to sew amazing clothes for his wife, I don't think that he will ever need to use those stupid lines."
"That's nice and all," said Lin Yan as he pulled Su Wan behind him and cleared his throat. " But you do realise that I —— the father is here, right? I am going to be the best daddy among us five so you all can pipe down."
" What? Just because you sowed the seed doesn't mean that you are going to be the best daddy, what are you talking about?"
" Exactly! I can be a better dad, I am a year older than you, I have more experience."
" Experience doesn't matter bah! The fun does, I will be the fun-loving father, the guy will surely love me then!"
" What do you mean by fun? It's good to have fun but the child also needs to study properly to become something great!"
The five brothers who were always cordial to each other immediately shed all their cordiality and glared at each other. Su Wan was speechless and just as she opened her mouth to stop them, Shen Junxi shouted, " STOP YOU BRATS WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?"
Su Wan sighed, well at least someone was being rational here but before she could even relax properly, Shen Junxi opened his mouth and yelled, " the child is obviously going to be my precious grand-niece what nonsense are you spouting, don't jinx it." And to make his words loud and clear, he even threw salt at the brothers.
Su Wan: "....." sigh ~ it's going to be one crazy ride.
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ps: Author san: clears Throat, can you all hear me? Hello? Hello? Its too lonely please comment!! And leave a few power stones and a gift is most welcome!
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Chapter 562 King crabs.
" Alright, that's enough!" said Madam Zhu as she clapped her hands and directed everyone's attention toward her, Su Wan was really thankful to her for doing so, she was worried that any second later and the family would have divided between a girl team and boy team. Though she didn't care what the gender of the child as long as they come into the world safe and healthy and more importantly without giving her too much pain, yes that was the most important part—— she hated pain the most, it was better than the child will be delivered without much suffering or else she was going to make Lin Yan suffer with her since he was the one who put this baby in her.
Lin Yan shivered instinctively when he felt a sudden chill crawl up his spine, he looked behind him but saw nothing. He scratched his head in confusion, what was that chill? Was he imagining it?
Madam Zhu on the other hand glared from one guilty face to another and snapped. " Who cares whether it is a girl or boy? As long as the baby comes to this world safely, isn't it?" Listening to Madam Zhu's sensible words the entire group of men lowered their heads in shame. That's right, as long as the baby was safe, what was the point of discussing its gender? They should be happy that they were at least getting a baby.
They have been thinking about having a baby, for who knows how long—— and now that Su Wan was pregnant, they were fighting like little children over the gender of the child. They should be ashamed of themselves!
However, before the men even got a proper chance to be ashamed of themselves. They heard Madam Zhu's following words——
" But try your best to give birth to a daughter, will you Wan Wan?"
The men of the family: "....." did she just? She did... right?
Su Wan: "....." Sorry aunt there was nothing she could do now, the gender was already decided the day she conceived this child.
"let's eat," said Zhang Xiaohui when she sensed that another fight was soon going to break. " the food is getting cold, and cold food is not good for pregnant ladies, they should eat warm things."
Only then did everyone snap out of their daze and hurriedly led Su Wan to the dining room. While she was being dragged, Su Wan shot Zhang Xiaohui a thankful gaze, she was really helpful at the moment—— if not, Su Wan was worried another war would have broken out at any moment.
Once everyone settled down around the dining room, Lin Yu looked around and frowned. " Second brother, didn't you say that you brought a rare thing for Wan Wan, where is it?"
" that's right, second brother." Even Lin Rui who was hardly ever aggressive looked at Lin Yan with a smile that was full of mocking. " Did you not say that your gift was better than ours? Where is it?"
Lin Chen who has just taken a sip of his water choked, and Shen Junxi who was beside him frowned though he hurriedly patted his back, worried that if the little brat died because of suffocation. His niece's birthday would be ruined —— though that was what Shen Junxi would have said if anyone asked, the truth was that compared to the other brothers he was a bit sweet on Lin Chen and now Lin Yan too—— since he was the one who gave him the opportunity to become a granduncle.
But this was something that Shen Junxi will never admit to no matter what.
Once Lin Chen stopped coughing he looked at Lin Yan who was low-key trying not to look smug and scrunched up his brows. " Alright, now I am curious too. What is your gift, Second brother?"
Even Lin Jing was looking towards his younger brother though his gaze was more curious than intrusive.
Lin Yan smiled though he tried to act a bit modest, the smugness in his eyes was very clear. He cleared his throat and said," you all remember, that a few days ago, Wan Wan was saying that she was craving King crabs, right?"
As soon as he said that Su Wan's eyes lit up, that's right. At that time she didn't know that she was pregnant and was having cravings, all she wanted was to eat King crabs and was really listless every day, however, she continued to crave that delicacy she couldn't have, it wasn't that the Dong Tong village didn't have crabs, it did but they were too small and the meat inside them wasn't even chewy and delicious.
Lin Chen had caught a few when she said she wanted to eat them but compared to the fresh batch of King crabs that she had in the modern world the small crabs were not doing any justice to the fresh crab meat that she ate.
" You got it? You got that for me?" Though Su Wan got several things ranging from jewellery, clothing and picture frame and whatnot... her priorities have always been decided. To her, the most important thing that was more precious than jewellery and fine clothing was —— GOOD FOOD! She was a foodie and the way to her heart led definitely from her stomach.
When the Lin brothers saw that Su Wan was acting like a child just at the mention of the King Crabs, their faces turned sullen. Damn! Why did they forget that their wife liked her delicious meals more than anything else? What were they thinking looking for this and that, they should have gone hunting for King crabs!
What they didn't know was that Su Wan was only acting like this because of her pregnancy cravings, she —— a pregnant woman who has been waiting to eat King Crabs for days was finally getting her to wish fulfilled, how can she be not excited?
This was something that the brothers would never be able to understand!
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Chapter 563 Adopting a new granddaughter.
Lin Yan was really pleased with all the attention and worshipping gaze he was receiving from Su Wan, he didn't even care about those hateful gazes that his brothers were shooting his way, calling him sneaky under their breath. Yeah, he was sneaky but it wasn't like he was stopping anyone from acting sneaky alright? If they wanted they could have looked for the King Crabs as well, it wasn't like he purposely hid it from them that Su Wan was craving for it?
He coughed lightly and then like a gallant hero descending from his horse, he smiled at Su Wan. Like she was some damsel in distress and he was her shining knight.
The Lin brothers: ( ′～‵), seriously? All this for just king crabs?
Though the four brothers were disgruntled there was nothing they could do, all they knew was that for the past few months, Lin Yan has been beating in this game of gaining their wife's attention. First, he got her pregnant in just one shot and now this—— they were seriously being looked down upon!
Neither Su Wan nor Lin Yan cared about what the four of them thinking, Su Wan couldn't wait to eat the King crabs meat that she has been craving for so long and Lin Yan couldn't get enough of her gaze that seemed to be worshipping him, so he immediately brought out the large stock of king crabs that he has brought from the docks early in the morning and served them on the table.
Throughout the process of him serving the King crabs meat on the table, Su Wan's eyes were shining as she smiled and giggled like a young girl. This was great she was finally going to eat it!
Once the dishes were served, Su Wan didn't even wait for Lin Yan to tell her that she can start eating—— she began eating on her own. Every time she took a bite, her cheeks turned red with excitement as she moaned at the delicious taste.
The Lin brothers who were wearing scowls of disapproval, immediately cooled down like they were doused with cold water on a hot summer day. So, what if this gift was given to her by their second brother? As long as their wife was happy was there any need for them to be upset?
Once the Lin brothers thought things through clearly, they no longer glared at Lin Yan and soon the dining room fell into an atmosphere that was filled with laughter and smiles.
At the end of the meal, Lin Yan brought a large cake and the rest of the family wished Su Wan a happy life and safe motherhood before all of them bud a good night.
Shen Zizhen was also very tired, though he was a bit upset that the second brat that hanky panky stuff with his niece, he wasn't going to complain as long as he was able to get a grandniece whom he can pamper and dote on as much as he wanted since he missed Su Wan's childhood, he might as well make up for it with this child.
" Master," as he was on his way to his guest house where he lived with his wife, his guard stopped him. Shen Zizhen frowned at him and then tilted his head back, the moon was hanging at the top of their head and most probably it was the middle of the night, so why was this servant disturbing him in the middle of the night?
The guard must have understood what was going on in Shen Zizhen's mind with his experience because he immediately answered all the questions that he was yet to get out of his mouth. " this letter was given by third master, he asked me to send you this letter as soon as I can, and said that no matter, how busy you are, you should read it at once."
Shen Zizhen frowned, he took the letter from his guard and tore it open. Ever since he came to the Dong Tong village, he has been avoiding going back home despite his mother's urging, he was afraid that if he went back, he might end up saying something that will make his mother suspicious of him. And if she came to find out that he has hidden Su Wan for so long, she will first crack his spine and then break his legs.
Shen Zizhen thought that this was another letter from his mother to urge him back home but once he started reading his expression turned red and pale and then pale to blue. He snapped his head at his guard and then back at the letter as he flipped it around—— the writing indeed belonged to his third brother but the content of the letter —— it was so disbelieving that Shen Zizhen thought that it was written by his cat who was drunk on fruit wine!
What kind of sh*t this was? And what kind of sh*t his mother was pulling? And what was with his brother? Instead of stopping their mother, he was helping her pull this sh*t?
Have the two of them gone mad?
Then without saying another word to his guard, Shen Zizhen rushed towards his Eldest brother's room where the latter was sleeping but maybe the luck was on his side because Shen Junxi was taking a stroll in the courtyard after eating so much. But since Shen Zizhen was nervous, he jumped at his brother and hugged his waist.
Shen Junxi who was attacked from behind let out a yelp but was quickly shushed by Shen Zizhen. " stop yelling, it's me!"
Startled, Shen Junxi looked down at Shen Zizhen who was slowly climbing his body like a pole. He frowned in disapproval and said, " How many times have I said? Don't climb on me like this and more importantly—— don't you jump on me like that, it hurts."
" Yeah, Yeah... you can whine like a bitch later on but first look at this," Shen Zizhen who has crawled all the way up to Shen Junxi's neck flapped the letter open in front of his eyes.
Shen Junxi wanted to scold Shen Zizhen for talking like this to him but then his gaze fell on the letter and then he too snatched the letter from Shen Zizhen's hands and like his brother flipped it over and over before muttering in disbelief, " mother is adopting a new granddaughter? What kind of nonsense is this?"
—— read a/n:
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Chapter 564 Irresponsible
"Did you get a reply from those irresponsible bastards?" said an old woman as she strode into the study room and raised her voice at the man who was sitting inside. Shen Tian was just reading his medical books calmly when his mother walked in and surprised the heck out of him, he pushed the book that he was reading away and the other notes that he has been taking just in time as his mother stomped in and planted her palms on the top of his table with a furious look in her eyes. " Did they say that are going to a come to Shan'er's adoption ceremony? I hope they are willing to give me face at the least."
Shen Tian sighed as he turned to look at his mother. " You know that's the elder brother and second brother will never agree to this, mother. They might be upset with what happened with Su Wan and Shen Shui but they will never let anyone else take their place, you can write a hundred letters to them and they will still respond the same way I am telling you. To them what you are doing is no different than you shaming Shen Shui's memory."
Old madam Shen's face turned livid. As she once again slammed her hands on the table and shouted, " How am I shaming her memory? If that girl had just listened to me then she would have been alive now and the same could be said for her daughter both of them are stubborn and annoyingly trustful of people they shouldn't be, what wrong I am doing here? I just want to have a granddaughter, you know it has been my dream. I just want to live with my granddaughter for a while before I die, if Wan Wan is not going to give me that comfort, I will just seek it somewhere else.! Or do you want me to die, without fulfilling my desires, is that you want? You want my soul to never be at peace, isn't that it?"
Shen Tian had a headache because he was the youngest, and his mother used to love him the most. Back then he thought that his mother's love was the greatest weapon he had against his two brothers, now he wished he was like his elder brothers—— Irresponsible and annoying brats. At least then the three of them would have to deal with their mother together and just not him.
He just returned to the country and now that he was back, his mother was once again clamouring about the same thing over again. A granddaughter.
Though this time she was a bit more hyperactive than before, and Shen Tian wanted to know why was she acting like this—— he didn't know what happened, but when he was off to the sea, his uncle came to their house and then who knows what kind of story his uncle spun in front of his mother, she not only accepted that man's granddaughter in her house, she was also willing to take her as her granddaughter.
Shen Tian knew that the girl knew how to sweet talk her way to his mother's heart and she looked a bit like Su Wan too but in the end, that girl wasn't Su Wan. She was some random girl that popped into their house and was now living like she was really biologically related to them. He couldn't accept that —— though he didn't stop his mother, he wasn't going to accept just anyone as his niece.
He will not dishonour his sister's memory like that, his mother might have gone old and foolish but he hasn't.
" Listening to your strong voice, I don't think that you are going to leave so early, mother. Why don't you try spending time with Chai, then that girl?" said Shen Tian, Chai was the cat that second brother brought for their mother. The cat wasn't just pretty to look at, she was active, smart and knew how and what she needed to do to win Old madam Shen's heart. Compared to Ji Shan, Shen Tian would like it more if his mother spent time with that cat.
" You too?" Old madam Shen looked at her son incredulously, she couldn't believe that even her most beloved son was refusing to accept her decision. " Why? Why are you and your wife so, against Shan'er, she is a sweet girl and as long as she stays next to me and makes me happy what's wrong with that?"
Shen Tian had an urge to throw his hands, pack his bags and disappear like his brothers but he knew that if he did that his wife was going to kill him. So, he stayed where he was and simply let out an exaggerated sigh. " There is nothing wrong with it, yes Ji Shan is a sweet girl and she keeps you happy—-"
" See that's what I am talking about——"
" But she is not Wan Wan, mother." finished Shen Tian as he stood up and took his mother by her shoulders and gently had her sit down on the chair he was sitting on just a moment ago. " Just because she looks like Wan Wan, she will not become Wan Wan... she will not become your granddaughter. You can dress her up all you want as you used to dress Shen Shui but she will never become Su Wan for me, she didn't come out of Shui Shui's womb and I will not accept her as my niece."
Shen Tian took a deep breath and looked away from his mother's hurt expression. " You can do whatever you want since you are Shui Shui's mother but I cannot do that, I am her younger brother. If I let another girl take the place that belongs to her daughter, then I am afraid that I will not be able to face her in the afterlife."
Old madam Shen's expression turned green. " But that girl doesn't want us as her family members——"
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Chapter 565 Ji Shan
" So does that mean that we should just bring some random girl and let her take Wan Wan's place?" Shen Tian breathed heavily and shook his head not wanting to argue with his mother anymore. He raised his hands and simply spoke his final note, " You want to adopt her, fine. If you do that, I will not stop you but do not expect me to be the same mother. Because I won't."
Then without waiting for Old madam Shen to say anything he walked out of the study room and headed straight to the courtyard where he lived with his wife. Both Shen Tian and his wife, Xu Jia came from a scholarly background. Xu Jia was the daughter of an academy teacher while Shen Tian was once a student at the same academy, the two of them loved the peace and liked to have their life remain undisrupted all. However, ever since Old madam Shen brought Ji Shan to their house their peace has been disrupted and Xu Jia simply stopped leaving her courtyard.
After all, at least her courtyard was one place that she has barred Ji Shan from coming but, of course, the latter has to make light of her stern orders. There were many times Shen Tian has watched Ji Shan trying to come to their courtyard, and since she has the backing of his mother, there was a little that Xu Jia could do to stop her.
At first Shen, Tian wasn't that against having Ji Shan at his house but then one day he heard her talk back to his wife and that was when all the delusions that he had about her broke because though that girl looked soft temper and his voice was as sweet as a nightingale's, he didn't trust that the girl was a simple child.
Because no girl would barge inside their courtyard and when refused entrance would snap back with ' But Grandma says that I can go wherever I want,'
It was indeed something that his mother would say but that doesn't mean that Ji Shan can just roam around the house as if she owned it.
Shen Tian sighed and stepped inside the courtyard and headed straight to the study room that faced the orchid garden that his wife has been taking care of, when he walked through the hallway, he smelled the scent of incense burning in the study room and the sight that he witnessed upon entering calmed his nerves. His wife and son were sitting on the small table and practising calligraphy, as he entered Xu Jia looked up and after finishing his last stroke, his son, Shen Beichun also looked up.
" Father," unlike his unruly cousins of him, Shen Beichuan was a rather calm child. It wasn't that he and Xu Jia were exceptionally strict with him, it was just his personality. Even after watching his father come inside, Shen Beichuan was as calm as a cucumber.
" Son," greeted Shen Tian feeling amused as he watched his son try to act like an adult, he wished he could tell his son that he should just enjoy this time that he has as a kid because after he grows up there will be no lack of troubles waiting for him but he knew better than getting engaged in this battle with his son since the latter inherited all his mother's debate skills and would turn him speechless in just a few minutes.
" You look upset," said Xu Jia as she calmly stood up and brewed sencha for him. " What happened?"
Shen Tian took the cup from her and sighed. " What else mother is still adamant about having that girl as her granddaughter, though that girl is good she is too childish and there is something weird about her temper as well, I don't think I like how she talks back to you and BeiBei."
Xu Jia blinked her eyes which were as clear as the sky. " I think the key to why mother is so adamant lays with your uncle, you know how easy it is to hoodwink mother, she has always been guilty about sister in law's death, I believe that uncle must have said something about sister Shui and it doesn't help that the girl looks a bit like sister Shui."
Shen Tian frowned. " Shui Shui, I thought she looked like Wan Wan."
His wife sighed and shook her head taking the empty cup from his hand. " That's the same thing, Wan Wan looks like sister Shui and mother has always been filled with guilt when it comes to sister Shui, I think that by taking Ji Shan as her granddaughter, she is trying to well, make up for the guilt that she has in her heart,"
" No matter what she does now, it's not going to change anything," said Shen Tian bitterly as he shook his head. " And instead of replacing Wan Wan, she might as well try to you know to look for her, Wan Wan must have grown up and she can take a better decision than she did when she was a kid, right?"
" Mother is old and she is no longer as smart as she used to be when she was young," was all Xu Jia said, " But I do understand, what she is trying to do is not something that she should be doing but then again, uncle seemed to have muddled his way through her."
" Mother is muddleheaded as usual and Ji Shan is not helping with that flowery speech of hers, she has been making the waters even muddier. I just hope that my brothers return soon, or else my mother will definitely just get through her plan and adopt that girl."
Xu Jia nodded but then her gaze fell on a faint silhouette that was lurking outside before it walked away and she narrowed her sharp phoenix eyes.
Seeing his wife make such an expression, Shen Tian looked over his shoulder and when he saw nothing, he looked at his wife. "what's wrong?"
" Nothing I just remembered that I have left a few things unattended," said Xu Jia as she walked out of the courtyard, and sure enough her gaze fell on the familiar back of Ji Shan and she called out, " do you like eavesdropping?"
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Chapter 566 I don't understand.
Ji Shan paused as she cursed Xu Jia for being so sharp-eyed a thousand times in her heart. She was only here after listening to all the ruckus that was happening in the study room of the third uncle but who would have thought that the things that she would hear would shock her to her core.
Grandma Shen had a granddaughter? And she was around her age? If so didn't it mean that her position as the only granddaughter of the Shen family was threatened? Ji Shan was one of many granddaughters of the Ji family. And unlike the Shen family who prioritizes granddaughters over grandsons, her family was all about favouring boys, her mother and father were of the same mindset as well they would often neglect her and pamper her younger brother who was three at the moment.
There were many times when Ji Shan wanted to live a life like her younger brother and wished that she was born as a son instead of a daughter but the thing was that she was already born as a girl and there was nothing much she could do about it either. So, Ji Shan lived a life where she had to scheme against even the smallest of the daughter of the Ji family.
Even if she has to take an extra mungbean cake to eat, she has to scheme for it against many others. It was a tiresome life and that was when her grandfather brought her here. He said that his sister was dying to have a granddaughter since she only has grandsons and no granddaughter.
At first Ji Shan thought that it was impossible for anyone to like girls but when she was brought to the Shen family, she finally realized that it was the truth! The Shen family's matriarch really wanted to have a granddaughter! Ji Shan felt like she was walking over the moon and maybe the gods were also on her side because she somehow by some freaky coincidence looked like the dead Shen Shui which was why her grandfather brought her here.
Ji Shan's grandfather's thinking was simple after all he didn't have just one granddaughter, there were many and it wasn't easy to raise so many kids at once. And what was even more interesting for some reason, his sister was leaving a life that was much better than his, unlike him whose family was getting more and more empty and hollowed from the inside the same couldn't be said for his sister who was getting richer by the grace of God.
Ji Shan's grandfather thought that if he were to send one of his granddaughters to his sister, he will be able to get in her good graces and then his family will be able to ask for big and small favours from his sister.
It was a bit shameless but compared to his family becoming nothing but a shell this was better. So, he sent his granddaughter who resembled Shen Shui the most, after all, he and his sister were born from the same mother and their genes were still similar in one way or another, it wasn't a big deal to find one Shen Shui among the countless numbers of granddaughters that he had.
He sent Ji Shan as a toy who would keep Old madam Shen happy and in return, he will be able to ask for favours from her. But Ji Shan who was being pampered by Old madam Shen has completely forgotten her position, she now started believing that she was the only granddaughter of the Shen family.
Thus, after finding out that there was another granddaughter, she couldn't help but feel threatened it was like she was scared about losing the one thing that was more important to her. And if she was being honest, she was indeed going to lose the position and the love of the Shen family if that real granddaughter was to return, after all an ' adopted' granddaughter could never compare to the biological one.
This was why she wanted to find out about this granddaughter of the Shen family that suddenly popped up just before her adoption ceremony. She was supposed to be the star of this day, how can she let anyone snatch it? After getting love from Old madam Shen, she was now aiming for getting love from the three uncles of the Shen family but if that girl was to return how will she get it?
But before she could get to know about the girl's situation, she was caught!
Ji Shan took a calming breath and turned around after pasting a smile on her face. " Third aunt, is there some sort of misunderstanding? I just came here to call you and third uncle to lunch but seeing that you two were busy, I didn't disturb you two."
Xu Jia assessed the girl in front of her calmly and shook her head, " If only you were this understanding, I didn't have to worry about a single thing. But clearly you aren't," with her eyes harshly locked on Ji Shan, Xu Jia spoke in a stern voice that was enough to chill Ji Shan's blood. " You were here to eavesdrop and find out more about Wan Wan, didn't you? I bet with your habit of eavesdropping on others, you must have found out about her after listening to Mother and my husband, didn't you?"
She didn't think that she would be caught like that, but even though Ji Shan was caught. She still shook her head and naively feigned innocence. " Third aunt, what are you talking about I have no idea about it, like I said the chef uncle in the main lodge said that it was time to eat, that's why I came here to call you nothing else. You are accusing me of things that I haven't done."
Then she paused for a bit and added, " Who is this Wan Wan, you are talking about? Is she Grandma's relative? If so then I have no problem with her coming here."
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Chapter 567 It might be a son.
" If that's how you think then it's great," said Xu Jia with a smile as she swooped lower to Ji Shan's eye level. " Because she is the one whose position you are sitting in, with her returning you will happily scamper back to your Ju house right?"
Ji Shan paused and every bone in her body stiffened as she looked at Xu Jia who was smiling, as if she could understand exactly what was going on in her head. " I know that you are a good child, you wouldn't want Wan Wan to be upset right? Then when she returns you will have to return to your house with a smile, don't make a fuss or it will hurt mother's aunt."
" Third aunt, why are you saying this, it's so upsetting——" began Ji Shan though her heart felt like it was on fire, she was still smiling. This was nothing compared to the things that she has to listen to when she was living at her house. Leave with a smile? On what basis! That girl wasn't even here and she wasn't the one who was taking care of the Old madam day and night, she was the one who was doing all that! After doing all that, she wasn't going to budge from this house without taking a good deal of their assets as her dowry.
Leave she wasn't going to ever leave! No matter what!
" What's upsetting is that you stand here, acting like my niece when you aren't," said Xu Jia, she was raised by her parents to be upright and steady, she didn't mince her words and hardly lost her temper but that didn't mean that she couldn't bring anyone to tears with just a few of her words, she was even more apt in dealing with people than the eldest daughter in law of the Shen family.
Xu Jia raised her hand and tipped Ji Shan's chin with her forefinger and whispered, " But you aren't, you will never be and my husband will never accept it either and if my understanding of my brothers in law is correct they won't either. You can pretend all you want, Ji Shan but I am not as muddleheaded as my mother in law. Even if my niece never steps in this house, I still will not take you as one."
" Because it will bring nothing but dishonour to my sister in law."
And Ji Shan would be lying if she said that these words that Xu Jia said before leaving didn't crush her heart. Dishonour? She just wanted a happy life that wouldn't be filled with scheming what was wrong with it?
Now she could only wish that whoever this Wan Wan was, she might as well fall in a ditch and die without anyone knowing, that way she will be the only one who will be the Shen family's granddaughter.
" Acho!" Su Wan rubbed her nose after she sneezed, sniffing she looked a bit troubled. Did she catch a cold but that was impossible, because of her husbands and uncles who were in their overprotective mode, she couldn't even touch cold water and wasn't allowed to drink cold water either. According to her aunt drinking, cold water will bloat her stomach and she would never be able to return to her old figure.
Thus, now she not only couldn't drink cold water, but she wasn't even allowed to touch it either.
As soon as she sneezed, Lin Yan who handed his restaurant to Lin Jing to take care of at the moment rushed inside with a warm porridge. "What's wrong why did you sneeze?"
Su Wan took the porridge from him and somehow managed to stop rolling her eyes at him, she was actually really annoyed with his overprotective behaviour. It was like she just didn't get pregnant but somehow turned into a glass doll that will break if he wasn't around her. " I don't know, must be because I kicked the bedsheet off in my sleep."
As she expected, Lin Yan's expression turned sour and just like always he started to lecture her again. " You ..how many times have I told you, you are not alone now, you are with a child and should take care of yourself better. I heard from your aunt that if a pregnant woman gets cold, there is a likely chance that the child's immune system might get affected, you can't fall sick in these nine months or else, it will hurt our child,"
" I know, in fact, I have this stored in my head like a second memory," said Su Wan as she finally couldn't resist herself and rolled her eyes. " I don't think that you need to react like this though, it was just a sneeze. I don't think that I will catch a cold just because of a sneeze you see?"
Lin Yan simply muttered as he ignored her. " You wouldn't even know when a simple sneeze will turn into a cold."
" You—-" fortunately before an argument could break, Shen Junxi rushed in with a crucian carp in his hands. " look, Wan Wan, this crucian carp that I caught for you, is so plump and I bet it will taste delicious. I heard from your aunt that drinking the soup of a crucian carp is beneficial in pregnancy. Let that Yan brat cook it for you."
As he was speaking, he noticed Lin Yan who was sitting on the bed with a porridge bowl in his hand and grinned. " Good thing that you are here, here take this." Throwing the fish that was still fighting for its life at Lin Yan, Shen Junxi walked over and sat next to Su Wan and asked, " How do you feel today? Is my grandniece giving you trouble today as well?"
Su Wan patted her stomach lightly and loving splayed her hand on it. " It's usually as always. I can't eat or drink anything without throwing up but I think it's going to be worth it soon."
" That's right, with us as parents, our daughter will be the most pretty looking girl in the village," said Lin Yan like Shen Junxi he was looking forward to a daughter as well.
However, as Su Wan felt another wave of nausea wash over her——- she couldn't help but think that the child might be a son.
——- a/n: with a mic—— ( Send me powerstones oh the collection of powerstones was too small and looking at three gifts broke my heart. Please love me moreeeeee)
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Chapter 568 Ask for blessing from the master.
Su Wan knew better than to say those words out loud, she knew that if she said those words—— the impact won't be small. So, she wisely stayed silent and simply tried to sip on the watery porridge while fighting nausea that was rising in her throat, honestly, the one thing that she couldn't help but hate was this morning sickness. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't take more than two bites of the food that was given to her.
Lin Yan has been experimenting with a lot of things lately but Su Wan could just not summon the appetite to eat anything just like this bowl of porridge, even though it was hardly bigger than her palm, Su Wan felt like finishing it was nothing but a task that she has to complete and the more she looked at the grains of rice, the more the task seemed impossible.
" Ah Wan Wan, before I almost forget." slapping a hand to his forehead, Shen Junxi exclaimed as he dragged his chair closer to Su Wan before speaking, "This weekend a very well renowned master will be coming back to the town, I have heard a lot about this master in the capital and hardly ever got the chance to meet him. It's really surprising that he is willing to leave his solitude behind and travel so far away from the capital. Of course, he is here to take a break from the life of the capital bit but somehow I have got an appointment and he is willing to see us, why don't you come with me to the town this weekend? Who knows whether or not we will get a chance to see him again or not?"
Before Su Wan can reply, Lin Yan immediately shook his head. " We can't do that uncle, Su Wan's pregnancy is still not stable, if she were to leave the house and travel to the town in such a condition, I am afraid that she might hurt herself, we can't take any risk with her health. At least wait for the next month once three months are up, she will be able to get out of the house without any problems."
Su Wan rolled her eyes for the millionth time as she smacked Lin Yan on the waist. " Just tell me, Mr dictator, when did I give you an impression of me being so weak that I can't even ride in a carriage? It's not like I am going on a bumpy ride, am I? Eldest uncle just wants to take me to the town which is only half an hour away from our house."
Lin Yan sternly rounded on his wife but it would have been better for him to do nothing like that because as soon as he turned around, his eyes met Su Wan's limpid eyes that were glaring at him angrily and he couldn't even use his strict voice at her, in fact, it was like he was trying to whisper yell but was failing miserably at that as well. " Wan Wan, you have to understand that you are pregnant, it's time for you to accept that you cannot run amok as you used to when you were not with a child. With our daughter in your belly, you need to be twice as cautious and you can't jostle or startle her, it would be really troublesome if our daughter gets scared."
" You are the only one who agreed to all that, I never once agreed to it." snorted Su Wan, as she placed the bowl of porridge next to her and pointed at Lin Yan. " You might be the father but I am her mother, I am the one who is carrying her in my belly and I want to get out of the house and take a breath! This is getting really frustrating you know! I can't have you locked me up the entire day, just because you are afraid that I will trip down this or that! I need to have some freedom as well!"
" Exactly, give my niece the freedom she deserves." chimed Shen Junxi, not at all happy with how Lin Yan was trying to interfere with his plan.
He was obviously the eldest uncle of Su Wan! Will he do something that will harm his niece? No, sir! He definitely won't so stand back down you brat!
Lin Yan sighed as he looked at the two stubborn faces, even if he tries to stop them now, they won't listen. In fact, going by Su Wan's habit of not listening to him when he asked her not to do something. She will definitely fight him on this, in the end, it was better to just take a step back and let her do what she wanted before she gets upset with him. No matter how protective he was, it wouldn't do him much good if his wife got upset with him.
It wasn't just worth it!
" Fine, if that's what you want." Though he wasn't happy letting Su Wan leave the house when her pregnancy wasn't stable, he had to admit that she was right.
Ever since they realised that she was pregnant they have been stopping her from leaving her room much less the house. Of course, she was going to get bored after being locked in the house for so long.
Su Wan beamed but before her smile could even stretch a bit wider, Lin Yan doused cold water on her head with his words. " But remember, you have to listen to me. There will be no running around and if you can't do even that then you might as well stay at home and do nothing, you got it?"
Though the conditions were hard and Su Wan never liked following anyone, she had no choice but to agree to whatever conditions that Lin Yan put in front of her. There was simply no other choice but to listen to his dictatorship!
As she stared at Lin Yan who was going on and on about how they were going to the town and at what pace and speed —— Su Wan looked at her stomach and poked it lightly. Child, you better listen to mommy and not daddy because I am the one who is going through the most suffering here!
next chap will update 2mrw
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Chapter 569 She couldn't allow it to be born.
In the Old Lin family.
" What did you say? Who is pregnant?" Old madam Lin who was cooking some millet porridge for her son, dropped the wooden spatula that she was using to stir the porridge and turned to look at her granddaughter, a wild look in her eyes. She wanted to shake her granddaughter up and ask her to say that what she just said was a lie but Lin Yunxi simply pursed her lips and sullenly said, " That bitch Su Wan, who else?"
Then she paused and looked at her grandmother with an angry expression on her face. " Grandmother why is it that my cousins are willing to spoil that woman and yet they are so fierce to us? No matter what we are still their family, flesh and blood! Even if our bones spilt we still belong to the Lin family, shouldn't they be helping us? Why is it that they are like this? They only send you a bag of millet and some copper coins, clearly they are living their best lives. At most, they can change the millet to rice and instead of sending us a few copper coins they should give us a silver taels! With their current income, even giving out a few silver taels would be too less, so why is it that they are acting like this?"
Lin Yunxi's life has taken a turn for the worse ever since her mother and aunt left the house, all the work came to her head. The reason? She was a girl! Her brother was allowed to leave the house and return whenever he wanted and she, on the other hand, stayed behind and wash, clean and sweep the house. Even the weeds in what was left of their farm fields were her responsibility, today while she was tackling those weeds, she saw Su Wan and Lin Yan coming out for a walk.
At first, she didn't pay much attention but then when she took another good look, she realised that Lin Yan was taking care of Su Wan throughout the entire time, and every time she stumbled, he was the first one to hold on to her and what was more he even covered her bloated stomach every time she so much as jerked the slightest bit because of the uneven roads.
And that was when she realised that Su Wan wasn't getting fat! She was pregnant! No matter, how stupid Lin Yunxi was she was smart enough to realise when the two of them were being so obvious about it.
Once this information penetrated her thick skull and coupled with the fact that Lin Yan was being so caring towards that bought woman, her blood started to boil. How can she be not angry? Back then when her family started to get more and more poor, she used to calm her foul mood down believing that Su Wan and her cousins will never have a child.
And even if they did, the child would be nothing but a bastard, after all the child's father would be unknown given there were five candidates but to think that Su Wan was smarter than that, not only she hoodwinked her cousin. She was smart enough to conceive the child in a manner that the father was known! How can she be played so smartly?
Now the two facts that used to give her comfort were gone, that Su Wan who should have remained childless was pregnant and the Lin family was flourishing while they were getting worse and worse!
What was more, she was yet to get married!
The more she thought about it the angrier she got, how can her cousin do something like this? Pampering the one who had no relationships with them and leaving her—— their blood-related cousin to fend for herself.
This was simply awful!
Old madam Lin listened to everything that her granddaughter told her and her expression turned more and more gloomier. That sl*t was pregnant? How was she pregnant? Those five brothers had been married for so long and when no news came from that Su Wan's stomach, she believed that the girl will never get pregnant but contrary to her belief, that sl*t actually conceived!
Infuriated, Old madam Lin threw the wooden spatula on the floor. Good, this was very good! Her son was yet to recover and was still moaning in his bed, her grandson dropped out of the academy because no matter how much they tried to scrimp and save, in the end, they couldn't manage to save the amount required. As for her granddaughter, she was soon going to be seventeen and they didn't even have two taels to rub together to pay for her marriage much less give her dowry.
After all, she couldn't send her only granddaughter on wooden planks can she?
They were suffering so much that each day was like living a day in hell. Yet, those brats actually got their wife pregnant? The more she thought the more her blood pressure rose. Placing one hand on her forehead she swooned.
" Grandmother!" Lin Yunxi reached out to hold her grandmother who was breathing heavily, she knew that her grandmother was angry after all her cousin didn't even look in their direction when her grandmother was running around asking for money to bail her father out in the end they had to sell their farmlands to get him out.
It was an extremely painful decision, one that still caused her heart to ache, every time she thought about it.
But what she didn't know was that —— Old Madam Lin wasn't just unhappy because of this matter alone but what was upsetting her the most was that the first branch was going to flourish and have kids! When the brothers were under her care, she tried her best to stop them from getting married but now—— they had a child on the way!
Her expression twisted and a malevolent glint flashed in her eyes, that bitch's grandsons having children? Never! She still hasn't forgotten how her husband used to miss that b*tch after marrying her!
No, this child can't be allowed to be born!
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Chapter 570 Need to have a nice chat.
" Ah Yu, you are returning from work right?" A young woman in her teens walked up to Lin Yu who was limping back home, though the family has saved enough money for a carriage, they were still waiting for Su Wan's pregnancy to stabilise before buying a carriage. Though according to Doctor Gu, the pregnancy was growing very smoothly, they still wanted to keep a large amount saved just in case—— once the pregnancy was stabilised and they were sure that there was nothing that was going to hurt Su Wan anymore, only then the brothers would leave her alone at home.
However, at this moment Lin Yu wished he had a carriage, he was really getting annoyed by this constant pestering of the women of the village. Ever since Doctor Gu came to their house to check up on Su Wan, the villagers have been nosing around and it wasn't long before they found out that Su Wan was pregnant.
It would have been good if they had just congratulated them and been done with it but nope, these women were trying so hard to come in between them. Instead of using their brains and leaving their family alone, the women of the village took this as an opportunity to get close to the brothers, thinking that now that Su Wan was pregnant, they have a chance.
Of course, they didn't, Lin Yu would willingly leave like an absolute monk instead of sticking his meat in anything that walked on two feet yet had the wits of a dog in heat.
Thus, when he was stopped by another one of those frantic women who wanted to make it big, he only felt annoyance in his heart despite her shy and coy face that was flushed like a sweet cheery. He would have loved to smack the girl across her head to wake her up from her delusions but he simply smiled and answered politely, " Yes, I am. Is there something that you want to discuss with me?"
The girl blushed even further, even though she didn't like Lin Yu in the beginning, she sure had a crush on him now. He was no longer the gloomy kid who hid himself in the house all day and even his stutter was gone. Now he was more of a Prince Charming than a gloomy boy whom everyone hated, and what was more was that —— she heard from her mother that Lin Yu was the one who came up with the new designer clothes that were trending in the town currently.
She has also seen those clothes and has always wanted one, if she could get close to Lin Yu then maybe —— she naively blinked her eyes and stepped closer to him. " Lin Yu, I ... I was thinking that——"
" Ah Yu, what are you doing there?" Lin Chen who has seen what was going on, hurriedly wiped his dirty hands and rushed to stand next to Lin Yu lest the latter flew in rage and said something that might upset the girl till she was reduced to tears. This was the fifth time in just a week and most probably, Lin Yu was at his limit already.
He turned to look at the girl who was naively confessing her feelings to this devil and smiled. " Ah, aren't you Aunt Jing's daughter? Tell her that we need some more embroidery pieces, so she should finish them soon."
Though his words were direct and polite, the girl flushed. Even if she was a village girl, she could see that Lin Chen was well —— drawing a line in between them by telling her this... she was the daughter of their worker and they were the boss.
The girl bit her lip and nodded before walking away.
Only then did Lin Yu's smile drop and he turned around with a scowl. " If I got one more proposal this week, I swear I will rip their parents apart. It must be them who are filling the heads of these young girls."
" You never know, the girls aren't exactly naive either," said Lin Chen with his hands crossed behind his head. " By the way why are you so late today?"
The brothers were now responsible for taking shifts to tackle the weeds in the rice paddies before it was ready to be sold. Once this batch was sold, they were thinking of hiring helpers who would help them sow seeds and take care of their crops but for now, they could only shift through their schedules and take care of the fields. Today it was supposed to be Lin Chen and Lin Yu's turn but he had to leave because for some reason.
Lin Yu frowned. " There was an urgent appointment set up by a rich woman, apparently she is adopting a granddaughter and she wants to find the best dress for her adoptive granddaughter... I told her that I couldn't sell anything to her or her granddaughter when they came when my bookings were filled already." Then he pursed his lips as his lips dipped further down and the temperature around him dropped to another degree lower. " But the old woman was adamant and kept saying that her granddaughter loves the clothes from my shop, and would love to wear a customise dress when I refused to help her, she went ahead and threatened me with her name. Do you know how she introduced herself to me?"
" How am I supposed to know that?" said Lin Chen as he frowned back at Lin Yu. " She was your customer, not mine. Shouldn't you be telling me this, so why are you asking me to guess that woman's identity?"
Lin Yu rolled his eyes and shot his brother a look. " In this entire time, which family did you meet who has been absolutely obsessed with the idea of having a granddaughter?"
Lin Chen paused as he slowly turned to look at Lin Yu, who smiled dangerously. " That woman introduced herself to me as Old madam Shen, looks like we need to have a discussion with our dear uncles soon."
——beginning of the Month and I beg you to give me a few more powerstones and some gifts!