“Sister, are you leaving in a few days?” After trying on her wedding dress, Xue Jinqiao, who had been happy earlier, suddenly remembered overhearing Bu Shulin and Cui Jinbai discussing travel arrangements.
Cui Jinbai and Bu Shulin would return together, including Xiao Changfeng who would escort both Xiao Huayong and Shen Xihe.
“Yes, after you and my brother’s wedding, after we change how we address each other, you can no longer call me Sister. I’ll have to call you Sister-in-law,” Shen Xihe said with a gentle laugh. “Once you’re married, North Star and I will have no reason to remain away from home. From now on, my brother and father will have to trouble Qiaoqiao to take care of them. If they don’t treat you well, send me a message, and I’ll take your side.”
Xue Jinqiao, who had been feeling reluctant and unhappy, brightened up at Shen Xihe’s last words: “Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll take good care of them and keep them healthy and strong.”
Shen Xihe couldn’t help but smile, holding Xue Jinqiao’s hand as she detailed all the preferences of the Shen father and son. Though she had prepared a small booklet, she still wanted to tell everything in person.
Shen Xihe spent the entire day with Xue Jinqiao. Xue Jinqiao was very dependent on Shen Xihe, and since this was the first time Shen Xihe had spoken so much to her, she listened with particular attention, even calling her two closest maids, Huahua and Caocao, to help her remember everything.
The day before the wedding, as the only female master of the Shen household, Shen Xihe was very busy managing affairs at the Shen residence. Fortunately, several aunts including Sang Yin had come to help earlier, otherwise Shen Xihe might not have been able to handle everything.
On Shen Yunan’s wedding day, the Northwestern royal city was extremely lively with songs, dances, and the thunderous beating of gongs and drums. Looking at the Northwestern royal city, it truly seemed like a national celebration.
Their wedding, with the Northwest having been cleared of troubles, proceeded smoothly without any mishaps. The only minor incident was when Xue Jinqiao, her face hidden behind a round fan, lost her step while looking for Shen Xihe and nearly fell. Fortunately, Shen Yunan reacted quickly and caught her in his arms, which drew quite a bit of teasing from the crowd.
Shen Xihe thought everything would continue smoothly, but unexpectedly, before dawn the next day, the new bride Xue Jinqiao came looking for her. She and Xiao Huayong hurriedly got up and anxiously opened the door, thinking something had happened.
As soon as Xue Jinqiao saw her, she threw herself into Shen Xihe’s arms and began crying pitifully.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Xihe asked with concern.
“Wuwuwu… Sister, I want to leave with you wuwuwu…” Xue Jinqiao clung tightly to Shen Xihe and wouldn’t let go.
The fully dressed Xiao Huayong, seeing this scene, would not have tolerated it if not for how miserably Xue Jinqiao was crying and the fact that this was the morning after Xue Jinqiao and Shen Yunan’s wedding.
“Did my brother mistreat you?” Shen Xihe couldn’t imagine what could make Xue Jinqiao want to leave Shen Yunan the day after their wedding. Although Xue Jinqiao’s thoughts were sometimes hard to fathom and occasionally showed signs of melancholy, she was still reasonable and wouldn’t easily say such things.
“He was too much, he bullied me, it hurt so much, and he wouldn’t let go…”
“Ahem! Ahem!” Xiao Huayong coughed timely and strode out of the room.
Shen Xihe also felt somewhat uncomfortable, as she roughly understood what Xue Jinqiao was referring to. But as a sister, how could she interfere in her brother’s bedroom matters?
She could only pull Xue Jinqiao into the room for some private words, while Shen Yunan, who had rushed after Xue Jinqiao, was blocked outside by his brother-in-law, who also gave some subtle advice.
After comforting the sobbing Xue Jinqiao, Shen Xihe helped her wash up and dress at her place, then held her hand as they went to pay respects to Shen Yueshan with tea and changed their forms of address.
“Then what should I call Sister… you?” Xue Jinqiao asked, somewhat confused.
“Call me You…”
“Si Yan, it’s the name bestowed by His Majesty,” Xiao Huayong interjected.
Shen Xihe gave him a helpless glance but didn’t contradict him, though she didn’t want to pressure Xue Jinqiao: “My milk name was given by mother, it’s Youyou; my style name was bestowed by His Majesty, it’s Si Yan.”
Shen Xihe thought Xue Jinqiao would choose to call her Youyou, but unexpectedly, she tilted her head in thought and asked: “Does everyone call you Youyou?”
Shen Xihe nodded.
“Then does anyone call you Si Yan?” Xue Jinqiao asked again.
Probably understanding Xue Jinqiao’s thoughts, Shen Xihe shook her head slightly: “Not yet.”
“Then I’ll call you Si Yan from now on, I’ll be the only one who calls you that.” As Xue Jinqiao said this, her eyes sparkled, and she raised her chin proudly at Shen Yunan and Xiao Huayong. Of course, she wanted to include her father-in-law in this, but as a junior, she had to maintain proper etiquette.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, she was just constrained by propriety.
Shen Xihe found it somewhat amusing and had to explain: “In the future, others might call me this as well.”
This was the style name bestowed by His Majesty, and while Shen Xihe didn’t reject it because of its imperial origin, if she made new acquaintances in the future, she naturally wouldn’t easily reveal her milk name.
But Xue Jinqiao didn’t care about this: “Then I’ll still be the first to call you that. It would be even better if more people in the capital called you this. That way, when you hear it, you’ll think of me, the first person who called you that. Isn’t that right, Si Yan?”
Shen Xihe smiled and nodded: “Yes.”
Xue Jinqiao was thus consoled, but that night, to everyone’s surprise, she came to Shen Xihe’s room with her bedding, ignoring Xiao Huayong’s sour face: “You’re leaving tomorrow, I want to spend tonight sleeping with you.”
After saying this, she put on a pitiful expression.
Xiao Huayong immediately couldn’t stand it anymore, but before he could act, Shen Xihe stepped forward to block him and took Xue Jinqiao’s hand: “Alright, we’ll sleep together tonight.”
“Youyou!”
“We’re departing tomorrow, I have some things to tell my Sister-in-law,” Shen Xihe said to Xiao Huayong.
Xiao Huayong took a deep breath and stormed off.
“So petty,” Xue Jinqiao couldn’t help but mutter.
Not only did Shen Xihe hear this, but Xiao Huayong did too. What’s more, Xue Jinqiao wasn’t wrong – sisters-in-law who would be separated for a long time wanting to spend one last night together, and the husband making a fuss about it, showed a lack of magnanimity.
“If my brother acted like this, I wouldn’t want him anymore,” Xue Jinqiao added.
She had told Shen Yunan about this when she came, and Shen Yunan wasn’t like the Crown Prince who couldn’t bear to be apart from his wife.
Little did she know that Shen Yunan was thinking of last night’s events. He had always been chaste and never taken any concubines, so he was inexperienced and had frightened his young wife so terribly. Being in his prime, he decided to spend tonight studying and learning, which was why he magnanimously let his wife go, while also getting some revenge on his brother-in-law who had mocked him in the morning.
This beautiful misunderstanding led Xue Jinqiao to compare and think better of Shen Yunan: “Your brother is better than the Crown Prince.”
Shen Xihe smiled without commenting, as Zhenzhu prepared the bed, and she retired with Xue Jinqiao.
But Shen Yunan had miscalculated – his black-faced brother-in-law came looking for him, saying he wanted to have a sparring match with his brother-in-law.