Shen Zhongwen sat at the head of the table, a headache brewing as he thought.
Su Xiaoqi, seeing his distress, had no choice but to lend a hand.
She gave him acupuncture and then warned him, "Your Highness, please refrain from stimulating it casually before my treatment is complete. Otherwise, I fear I will be unable to help."
Shen Zhongwen suppressed his breathing, his eyes closed. He wanted to say he couldn't do as she asked.
He was beginning to recall some things.
The scenes were fragmented.
And there were only figures, no faces.
The more he remembered, the more he wanted to recall everything.
This had become his sole preoccupation recently.
"Your Highness, you wouldn't have come just to fall ill, would you?" Shen Yun's tone was not pleasant.
He felt no affection for the man who had tricked his mother into giving birth to him and his sister, only to feign death and disappear.
He even hated him.
If not for him, his mother wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
Marrying a common farmer, with his mother's diligence, why would she have fallen ill at such a young age?
If not for Xiaoqi's timely treatment.
His mother would have been blind, crippled, and afflicted with illness by now.
It would have been fine if he had never appeared.
The crucial point was that the sole heir of the Ning Prince's estate was now disabled, and this man, his abandoned son, had suddenly remembered him.
That was one thing; it was human nature, after all, their family had a princely title waiting to be inherited.
But the whispers he heard were that the Ning Prince's estate intended to acknowledge him.
Yet, they had never mentioned acknowledging Mingzhu or his mother.
Of course, his mother was unwilling to go to the Prince's estate.
But whether his mother was willing or not was one thing, and the attitude of others was another.
Therefore, Shen Yun became even more displeased.
His demeanor towards the Ning Prince's arrival grew even less welcoming.
"This Prince… I, I, I've come to ask when you will return to the Prince's estate with me to acknowledge your ancestors."
"Oh, you want me to go to the Prince's estate to acknowledge my ancestors, and then force me to abandon my wife, my birth mother, and my sister?" Shen Yun's voice was faint, betraying no emotion.
Shen Zhongwen felt somewhat embarrassed.
These were the words his father, the old Ning Prince, had spoken to him.
Their estate had no shortage of daughters, so they did not wish to acknowledge Shen Mingzhu and the others.
And as for Madam Zhao, there was even less to be said.
They had disdained her in the past, and naturally, nothing had changed now.
He also deeply felt that this was improper.
But the figure in his mind had no face; he didn't know if it was Madam Zhao.
He had no special feelings for Madam Zhao at the moment.
Nor could he bring himself to rebel against his father, whom he had never defied, for her sake.
Seeing Shen Yun fall silent, Shen Zhongwen knew the rumors were not false.
He smiled.
However, Su Xiaoqi could see the hidden heartache within his smile. She raised her hand and tightly grasped his.
"Husband!"
She wanted to say that if he didn't want this recognition, then they wouldn't accept it.
No matter how noble the Prince's estate was, Shen Yun would not be lacking in the future.
If the Ning Prince's estate continued on its current downward trend, who knew who would be appeasing whom in the end.
With this thought, Su Xiaoqi offered Shen Yun her full support.
Although she was somewhat covetous of the jade pendant that the Ning Prince wore at his waist.
But how to put it.
If she truly desired it, she didn't necessarily need Shen Yun to return to the Ning Prince's estate.
She was well aware that there was no necessary connection between the two.
However, due to her curiosity and doubt about the jade pendant, Su Xiaoqi's gaze did linger on it for a while.
She couldn't help but look at it more.
After all, that jade pendant was related to her spatial dimension, and possibly the secret of how she transmigrated into this book.
Su Xiaoqi didn't know why she had such a thought.
Looking at the jade pendant, her thoughts began to wander, and she felt unable to control herself.
Su Xiaoqi's unusual behavior finally caught Shen Zhongwen's attention.
He glanced at Su Xiaoqi, then at the jade pendant on his waist and said, "Yun Ge'er's wife likes this jade pendant?"
"Ah, yes!" Su Xiaoqi answered reflexively.
Only after speaking did she realize she had spoken out of turn.
She turned her face away, her eyes darting around, afraid to look at Shen Yun.
What was happening to her?
The answer in her heart was clearly negative.
Why had she spoken the truth?
She covered her rapidly beating heart, trying to explain, "Uh, well, I just found it novel, I've never seen anything like it before, I don't actually want it."
These words could only fool Shen Zhongwen.
Did Shen Yun not understand Su Xiaoqi?
She was not a materialistic person.
Although she loved making money, she never valued these external possessions worn on her person.
This time, her behavior was different from usual.
It was understandable that Shen Yun would overthink things.
However, he naturally wouldn't ask in front of Shen Zhongwen.
With his doubts lingering, Shen Yun lost the mood to talk much with Shen Zhongwen.
He planned to say a few words to send him away.
But Shen Zhongwen was not so easily dismissed.
He looked at Su Xiaoqi. After his investigations and understanding of Shen Yun over this period,
He knew that while Shen Yun appeared gentle on the surface, like himself, seeming easy to talk to.
However, after dealing with him for so long, he knew that was merely superficial.
He was very determined, and once he made up his mind to do something, it was very difficult to persuade him.
But there was one person who could easily change his mind.
That person was Su Xiaoqi.
Shen Zhongwen had tried to stop Shen Yun many times at the palace, at the palace gate, and on the streets.
But the other party, after a mere greeting, didn't give him any opportunity to speak.
If it were in front of outsiders, he could still be polite.
But if it happened to be just the two of them, he would turn and walk away. Therefore, after blocking him more than ten times, the total words spoken were less than what had been said today.
Shen Zhongwen knew very well that this was all because Su Xiaoqi was present.
Shen Yun didn't want to damage his image in her heart.
So, she might be the breakthrough point for him to achieve his goal.
"This jade pendant was very important to me once.
But I really can't remember the events of that time, and keeping it is meaningless.
If Yun Ge'er's wife likes it, then I shall give it to you."
Before Su Xiaoqi could refuse, he immediately added, "When you got married, this Prince… I didn't know about it, and I failed in my duty as a father. Consider this a small token of my affection, please don't refuse."
Su Xiaoqi was filled with surprise and joy.
Once again, she marveled that since she had chosen to be with Shen Yun, not only had her jinx attribute been cured, but she had also gained an incredibly lucky streak, getting whatever she wished for.
She almost opened her mouth to agree.
But then she glanced at Shen Yun.
He was staring at Shen Zhongwen with a wary expression.
He looked like he was guarding against a thief.
She suddenly realized.
Uh, if she accepted it, it would be tantamount to acknowledging Shen Zhongwen as her father-in-law from her side.
Wouldn't this cause trouble for Shen Yun?
That absolutely could not happen.
She waved her hand and said no.
Shen Zhongwen, seeing her seemingly covetous expression but then ultimately giving up,
Was somewhat surprised and sighed, saying, "It's just a jade pendant, it wouldn't hurt for you to accept it."
Su Xiaoqi lowered her head, muttering in her heart, "You've lost your memory now, so you don't know the value of this jade pendant, of course, you say that.
If you knew its value later, you probably wouldn't say so.
Never mind, even if I want it, I can't take it in a way that disadvantages Shen Yun.
I'll find a way myself."
Su Xiaoqi thought to herself in secret.
Su Xiaoqi refused very decisively. After Shen Zhongwen was finally sent away by Shen Yun, she rubbed her forehead, looking deeply troubled.
"You want it?" Shen Yun asked.
As perceptive as he was, he had already sensed Su Xiaoqi's strong attachment to the jade pendant.
He realized that the jade pendant was definitely not an ordinary one.
There must be some secret hidden within it, and it might even be related to his wife's origins and the strange occurrences that had happened to them.