Chapter 22: Virtuous Son-in-Law

Words : 1883 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Virtuous Son-in-LawOutside the study, a servant led Xie Jingchen to find Su Jin. Inside, Su Jin had changed into a new outfit, a robe with gold threads and cloud sleeves, looking delicate and enchanting, naturally beautiful. Xingxing praised, "The Madam made such beautiful clothes for Miss." Mrs. Tang also looked satisfied and said, "Now that she’s married, I don’t know who to make clothes for to pass the time." Su Jin laughed, "Mother can make clothes for Father and Brother." Mrs. Tang dismissed the idea, "Not willing to make for them, whatever they wear looks the same." Mrs. Tang asked Su Jin to turn around to see if any alterations were needed. Su Jin had turned halfway when she saw Xie Jingchen come in and she smiled and asked, "Did Father quiz you on literature, and did you answer it all?" Xie Jingchen didn’t want to talk. He had never seen such an outrageous father-in-law, not at all afraid of losing face in front of his son-in-law, yet asking for his help in reflection, no one would believe it. Furthermore, Marquis Dongxiang specifically urged Su Jin not to go, obviously not wanting Su Jin to know about it. Seeing he didn’t speak, Su Jin didn’t inquire further, assuming that Marquis Dongxiang had posed a difficult question that stumped him, which was quite likely. Su Jin touched the embroidery on the cloud sleeves and laughingly asked, "How is it, beautiful, right?" Xie Jingchen slightly raised his eyebrows, to think the bandit’s wife had embroidery skills that could rival palace embroideresses. He said nothing, and Marquis Dongxiang, who walked in behind, laughed, "Of course, my daughter looks good in anything she wears." Is that how one praises their daughter? "Father, I’m asking about the dress," Su Jin said, blushing. Marquis Dongxiang took a closer look and said, "Your mother’s skills aren’t great, it’s just that you look good wearing it, your brother and I wouldn’t want to wear it." One doesn’t want to make, the other doesn’t want to wear, truly a perfect match. Mrs. Tang gave Marquis Dongxiang a fierce look and said, "You tested his literary knowledge, are you satisfied?" Marquis Dongxiang seized the opportunity to show off his literary talent and said, "A rough jade can become a gem, waiting to be sculpted and polished, it is a promising talent." A promising talent... Hopefully, he wasn’t referring to a bandit. Xie Jingchen prayed in his heart. Mrs. Tang was somewhat surprised and said, "It’s rare for you to give such high praise, I’ve never heard you compliment anyone." "I’m always accurate in judging people, besides, how could someone our daughter likes be mediocre?" Marquis Dongxiang said proudly. "That’s true." "...." If he hadn’t heard such comments from Marquis Dongxiang, these compliments would have made Xie Jingchen very happy, but now he was just frustrated, a breath stuck in his chest, difficult to be relieved. Xie Jingchen stood there, not saying a word. Su Jin pushed him slightly and whispered, "Being praised like this, you’re not even blushing or being modest?" Don’t forget, you promised me to behave well, not to let my parents misunderstand you for being conceited, Su Jin reminded him with her eyes. Xie Jingchen almost choked on his own blood. He gave Su Jin a sideways glance. Do you know what your father is praising about me? Your father is praising me as fit to be a bandit! It’s good enough he’s not mad enough to have a red face and thick neck, who would blush. Was he supposed to thank his father-in-law for having the keen eye to see the bandit potential in the eldest son of the Duke Zhen Mansion? Unable to say it, Xie Jingchen ignored Su Jin. Su Jin poked him with her eyes. Over there, Marquis Dongxiang looked Su Jin up and down and furrowed his brows, "Why do I feel like my daughter has lost weight?" Has she? Su Jin raised her hand to touch her own face. Mrs. Tang looked too and felt she had lost weight and asked, "Is the food at Duke Zhen Mansion not to your liking?" Su Jin shook her head. Mrs. Tang looked at Xingxing, who said, "The food at Duke Zhen Mansion is delicious, even better than at the Marquis Mansion. Miss eats a lot every meal, she couldn’t possibly be losing weight." Su Jin, "...." Did she eat a lot? She only ate a bit more than at the Marquis Mansion, alright, she’s just been tired these past few days, using up energy, eating a bit more is normal. Internally muttering to herself, Su Jin didn’t voice any rebuttal, for eating well and sleeping well would assure her parents. Xie Jingchen was a bit surprised at the dynamics in Marquis Dongxiang’s household. In Duke Zhen Mansion, a maid could never say something like the master’s food isn’t as good as others’, especially not directly in front of the master, that would result in punishment. But it wasn’t the case at Marquis Dongxiang’s Mansion. Marquis Dongxiang wasn’t angry at all; he was delighted that his daughter could eat better meals, and then— he stole the cook. Marquis Dongxiang looked at Xie Jingchen and said, "Now that Jinjin is getting married, her mother has lost her appetite these past few days. I was just worrying about where to steal a cook from. The cook from the Duke Mansion makes excellent dishes, remember to send a good cook over after you go back." Xie Jingchen, "...." It seemed that Marquis Dongxiang had more to say, but Xingxing leaned in and whispered a few words to him. Marquis Dongxiang laughed heartily, "Blue is surpassed by blue." Su Jin was completely confused by the laughter. Mrs. Tang glared at Marquis Dongxiang and said, "Stop praising your daughter all the time, let’s serve tea first, and whatever you have to say, say it after the tea is served." Only then did Su Jin and Xie Jingchen proceed to serve tea. After serving tea, Su Jin seized the opportunity to ask Xingxing, "What did you say to make my dad so happy?" Xingxing whispered, "Nothing much. I was just worried that the Marquis would snatch money from the son-in-law, so I told him that the money from the son-in-law has been snatched clean by the lady. If you want to rob, you’ll have to wait until the son-in-law saves up again." The son-in-law who needs to save money, "...." After the wedding meal, Xie Jingchen watched helplessly as the silver notes he was robbed of were given to Mrs. Tang by Su Jin, "Mom, you use this money first, and stop Dad from robbing those ministers." Mrs. Tang was gratified by her daughter’s filial piety, but she did not agree. "Robbing is your father’s hobby. Not letting him rob is more painful for him than forbidding him to eat," Mrs. Tang said. Su Jin, "...." Returning the silver notes to Su Jin, Mrs. Tang smiled and said, "Although your dowry was prepared on credit, Qingyun Mountain doesn’t lack money. Those small estates and shops, I’ll add them for you later. Your father and I would never wrong you. Last night, your father was even worried that you might be bullied by the Duke Mansion and planned to move the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion opposite the Duke Mansion, so it’s close, and you can return every day. If anyone dares to bully you, your father would rush over immediately." Su Jin, "...." Xie Jingchen, "...." Is it necessary to love a daughter so much that it warrants moving a house? This house was bestowed by the Emperor. Xie Jingchen had nothing to say. Su Jin felt a twinge of emotion in her nose. The more they loved and pampered her, the more uneasy she felt in her heart. "Father, Mother, I’m not that easily bullied, don’t worry," Su Jin snuggled up to Mrs. Tang and said. Mrs. Tang touched her daughter’s face and smiled, "I know, it doesn’t matter where you live, but if you live opposite the Duke Mansion, your father can sleep for another quarter of an hour before heading for court, and if I urge him a bit more, he should not be late." Speaking of Marquis Dongxiang attending the court, Su Jin’s little sadness was replaced by laughter. After Marquis Dongxiang entered the capital, the Emperor granted him a mansion, and he became part of the court’s civil and military officials, required to attend court unless on leave. On the first day of attending the morning court, in order to make a good impression on the officials and the Emperor, Marquis Dongxiang got up extra early, but... He was not just late; he was thoroughly late. The moment he stepped into the Political Discussion Hall, the eunuch was announcing the end of the meeting... To reprimand him, the Emperor rose from the Dragon Chair and sat back down again. On Qingyun Mountain, Marquis Dongxiang was like a local emperor, waking up naturally every day. Forcing him to wake up at dawn to attend the morning court was truly torturous. According to Xingxing, on that day, when Marquis Dongxiang returned home, he mused, "It’s tougher being an emperor than being a bandit." However, after that day, Marquis Dongxiang never went that late again. Occasionally, he was on time for court, and at times left halfway through; if he really got up late, he simply didn’t go... seaʀᴄh thё novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Initially, there were even ministers who impeached him, but Marquis Dongxiang remained incorrigible. After collective compromise, now Marquis Dongxiang is able to swagger to his position while the Emperor is speaking, and no one pays him any mind. This is unique in the entire court. Of course, in the entire Daqi Dynasty, he was the only one with the title of Marquis without an official position. It wasn’t that the Emperor refused him an office, but Marquis Dongxiang didn’t want one. He didn’t like one position, found another uninteresting; eventually, the Emperor wanted to hit him, "What exactly do you want to do?" Marquis Dongxiang thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything, so he said, "Let’s just attend court for now. If I find something interesting, even if the Emperor doesn’t let me, I’ll fight to do it." The Emperor let him be. Mrs. Tang and Marquis Dongxiang escorted Su Jin and Xie Jingchen out of the mansion. At the gate, they lingered reluctantly for quite a while, and Marquis Dongxiang’s gaze at Xie Jingchen was extremely disdainful. Previously, he had called him son-in-law a few times. But at the gate, it turned into "dislikeable son-in-law". Under pressure, Xie Jingchen said, "In a few days, I’ll return with my wife to visit you, father-in-law and mother-in-law." Only then did Marquis Dongxiang’s gaze become gentle. Xie Jingchen helped Su Jin onto the carriage, and Marquis Dongxiang remembered something and said to Su Jin, "The eighteen weapons you clamored to leave at Qingyun Mountain will be delivered to the Capital in the next couple of days. As soon as they arrive at the mansion, I’ll have someone send them to you." Su Jin, "...." Xie Jingchen, "...."

Chapter 22: Virtuous Son-in-Law

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