Chapter 45: What a Great Lover

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: What a Great Lover

Cui Lingyao was also somewhat stunned.

She even felt that Shen Tingyu’s words weren’t just for his mother, but for her as well.

’He’s declaring his feelings for me.’

’In his own way.’

No mother can win an argument against her own child.

This was especially true for Mrs. Liu, who had only one son and one daughter. Her eldest son was not just her pride, but also her support.

After Shen Tingyu had spoken so bluntly, if she, as his mother, still refused to yield, it would mean disregarding her child’s happiness for the rest of his life.

Even between a mother and her own son, if the elder was unkind, the bond between them would surely start to crack.

Besides, Mrs. Liu doted on her son.

She stared at Cui Lingyao for a long time, her expression grim, and said in a deep voice, "Come here."

Shen Tingyu frowned slightly and was about to intervene, but Mrs. Liu laughed in exasperation. "What? In your eyes, do you think your mother is going to eat her?"

’To think he’d be this wary of me!’

Though she was practically grinding her teeth internally, Mrs. Liu didn’t remain completely stern; instead, she softened her tone.

"I am your mother. Everything I do is for your sake. Since she has won your heart, I don’t want to see you unfulfilled, nor will I be deliberately harsh with her."

’She’s about to approve of his relationship with Yaoyao.’

Shen Tingyu’s expression relaxed, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "Thank you, Mother."

The young man was gentle and handsome, the smile in his eyes unburdened. It was a look of pure joy.

The sight made Mrs. Liu’s nose tingle with unshed tears.

Her son had been a prodigy since childhood, raised personally by his grandfather, the Duke. From the age of seven, he had rarely acted spoiled with her.

After he turned ten, she had never seen him this happy again.

Seeing how much he liked her, Mrs. Liu genuinely began to feel a desire to grant her son his wish.

Her voice grew even softer. "Your grandfather and father might not agree to this so easily. I’ll talk to your father about it when he’s in a better mood."

For the eldest son and grandson, the heir to the family, to take a concubine before marriage was no small matter.

Even as his birth mother, Mrs. Liu could not make the final decision.

But since she had relented, it meant the matter was eighty or ninety percent settled.

Shen Tingyu nodded. "I’ll have to trouble you, Mother. However, I will speak to Grandfather and Father about this myself."

Mrs. Liu didn’t catch the deeper meaning in his words. Not in a million years would she have guessed that her son wasn’t planning to take a concubine, but to marry an orphan girl as his wife.

So, her expression unflinching, she turned to Cui Lingyao. The sharp glare in her eyes was gone, but her voice remained cold and severe.

"The Duke Mansion is a noble house with a century of history and very strict rules. Once you enter these doors and become your cousin’s woman, you can no longer consider yourself the family’s visiting young miss. You must learn all the rules and etiquette. You cannot make a single misstep in your words or actions."

A visiting young miss was a guest.

A pampered guest, at that.

Therefore, no matter how improper her conduct, how unconventional her ways, or how shamelessly she chased after a man, the Shen Family, though annoyed, would not overstep her own mother and discipline her, all for Mrs. Shen’s sake.

And now, she had chosen to become a concubine.

Then she would have to learn the rules for a concubine.

Mrs. Liu said, "For the next few days, you will stay by my side and learn the rules."

"I cannot trouble Mother with this,"

Before Cui Lingyao could refuse, Shen Tingyu spoke up. "I have some free time recently. I shall personally instruct my future wife."

...Future wife.

The two resounding words hung in the air. Mrs. Liu acted as if she hadn’t heard correctly, tilting her head slightly. "What did you say?"

In the hall, the atmosphere, which had just begun to ease, suddenly took a nosedive. It was so strange that even Cui Lingyao, who was used to dramatic scenes, felt her scalp tingle.

She instinctively looked up at the mother and son at the head of the hall, one seated and one standing.

The two young servant girls in the corner both raised their heads slightly, their expressions horrified.

Only Shen Tingyu seemed completely oblivious to the tense, stagnant air. He stood there, utterly unfazed, and slowly repeated himself, even adding, "In this life, I will marry no one but Yaoyao."

"Absurd!"

No longer able to maintain her graceful and dignified composure, Mrs. Liu slammed her palm on the table and shot to her feet. The next moment, she staggered and nearly fell, but Shen Tingyu caught her with lightning-fast reflexes.

"Mother!?"

"So you still remember I’m your mother!"

Mrs. Liu clutched her chest, her face and lips turning pale with anger as she trembled all over. "If you still consider me your mother, then take back what you just said!"

Shen Tingyu pressed his lips together and said nothing. He reached out to take his mother’s pulse, and after confirming there was nothing seriously wrong, he helped her sit back down.

Mrs. Liu knew her son’s temperament, knew how stubborn he could be. But at this moment, she couldn’t care about any of that. She grabbed his hand. "I’m asking you, are you determined to marry this orphan, who has no father, brothers, or clan to rely on, even if it means defying your own mother?"

"..."

Shen Tingyu was silent for a moment before replying, "I have weighed the pros and cons and know what I am doing. You need not worry about my affairs."

"You are my son! How can I not worry about you!" Mrs. Liu was frantic. "Given her background, even granting her the status of a proper concubine would be elevating her. To marry her as your wife, have you lost your mind!"

"It is precisely because she has no father or brothers, no family to rely on, and no substantial dowry to her name. Besides her aunt, I am the closest person she has. That is all the more reason I cannot wrong her."

Shen Tingyu said, "Mother, my mind is made up on this matter. I will speak to Grandfather and Father myself."

He would be the master of his own marriage.

The wife he chose, he would teach himself, hand in hand.

He wouldn’t let her suffer abuse and grievances in the rear courtyard under the pretext of ’learning the rules’.

For the first time, Mrs. Liu realized her eldest son was a hopeless romantic!

She clutched her chest, her breathing ragged, looking as if she might faint at any second.

In this era, the methods for women of the inner quarters to deal with their sons were few: feigning illness, crying, and other such tactics.

Especially feigning illness.

The trick was old, but effective.

Hadn’t countless deeply in love and devoted couples been driven apart by the schemes of a mother-in-law?

But when Shen Tingyu saw his mother clutching her chest, looking like she was gasping for air and about to faint, he didn’t get flustered and apologize.

He bent his knees, crouching down before Mrs. Liu, and took her wrist. With downcast eyes, he placed three fingers on her pulse point and held them there for a long time.

Then, he unhurriedly withdrew his hand and offered a few words of comfort and reassurance.

Finally, he even added that since all medicine has some toxicity, there was no need to even write a prescription.

His expression was unchanging throughout.

It was as if he had spelled out the words "feigning illness" right to her face.

Mrs. Liu was so furious she could have fainted for real.

Cui Lingyao’s lips twitched as she listened.

’Shen Tingyu is truly one of a kind.’

Even in modern society, few men would dare to call out their own mother for feigning illness for the sake of their wife, let alone in an ancient era where filial piety was paramount.

As a husband, a man like that was simply impeccable.

When he said he would protect her, he really meant to protect her completely.

Throughout the entire ordeal, he hadn’t let her say a single word.

Nor had he tacitly consented to his mother’s so-called ’lessons in etiquette.’

Everyone knew that what the women of the inner quarters called ’learning the rules’ was, in reality, a way to tame your personality, wear you down, and teach you to behave.

But he also cared for his mother. After confirming that Mrs. Liu was physically fine, he comforted and soothed her for a long while before taking Cui Lingyao by the hand and leaving.