16 Chapter 16: Petty Mind
Translator: 549690339
Han Yu felt that his daughter-in-law’s temperament was still unpredictable, so he had to pick the most serious and frightening consequences to scare her. This way, she wouldn’t dare to entertain such ideas in the future. Indeed, in this era, if a woman really dared to commit such an act of infidelity, the consequences would be exactly as grave as he described.
So when Su Wenyue heard Han Yu say this, she was genuinely moved, especially by the guilt that came with doing something wrong. Although, that was all in her previous life. After Su Wenyue had left with that man, she didn’t know what Han Yu’s reaction truly was; at the time, she only felt more delighted the angrier Han Yu got. Now she thought about it, if that man hadn’t had such a strong background, which deterred people from causing trouble at his mansion, she didn’t know what end she would have met.
As for Han Yu, Su Wenyue didn’t think he lacked the courage to confront the situation. Moreover, Han Yu had gradually risen through the ranks, reaching the clouds, and eventually became the powerful Prime Minister, whom even that man didn’t dare to provoke easily. That man even considered sending her back to Han Yu to deal with as he saw fit, but that idea was later pacified by her coaxing, and partly because he truly found it hard to part with her, so he dropped the idea.
Su Wenyue didn’t hide her departure from the Han Family in her previous life. In fact, many people knew where she had gone, yet Han Yu never once came looking for her. Now, upon reflection, she realized that Han Yu had long been dissatisfied with her. If it weren’t for their child, perhaps he would’ve thought about divorcing her sooner. He probably didn’t come looking for her out of disdain, or maybe he simply didn’t care.
Back then, Su Wenyue had already deeply mired herself in the sordid affairs of that mansion, busy competing with the women in the backyard for favor and solidifying her position in front of that man. So after feeling uneasy for some time, she completely pushed Han Yu out of her mind. Now that she reflected on Han Yu’s attitude, she felt quite uneasy inside.
Han Yu, with all the effort he put into frightening and instructing his daughter-in-law, found out that Su Wenyue was not even listening, her mind wandering far away. She was nowhere near the effect he was aiming for, which made him feel both angry and helpless, and his tone became even heavier.
“Su Wenyue, I’m being serious with you. Don’t think I’m trying to scare you. You are young and have been spoiled by your father and mother since childhood, so no one has told you about these things. You don’t understand the severity of the consequences, especially those nonsensical storybooks you read that disregard all manners and customs with tales of talented men and beautiful women, reckless romance, and leading people astray. You’re not allowed to read those useless books anymore, have you heard?”
“Got it,” Su Wenyue rolled her eyes. Why hadn’t she realized before that Han Yu had the potential to be such a nag, incessantly harping on in her ear, which hardly matched his usual demeanor.
Su Wenyue didn’t know that it was her good behavior after marrying into the Han Family, coupled with the little flaws she displayed to change Han Yu’s impression of her, which not only awakened the manipulative and repressed nature within Han Yu but also finally made him include her in his domain. It led him to feel the urge to discipline her, turning it into a habit that later on, he just couldn’t shake off. After countless failed attempts to resist, Su Wenyue saw through Han Yu’s nature and even thought about having a daughter to shift Han Yu’s attention, but alas…
Han Yu was completely at a loss seeing Su Wenyue’s entirely improper attitude. Training a good daughter-in-law wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight; it required slow and steady discipline. It was only then that Han Yu realized the topic had drifted too far off course, although it was he who had first led it astray. The initial discussion about the mistake Su Wenyue made hadn’t been resolved yet!
“Forget it, I won’t talk about this with you now. Let’s get back to the main point. Tell me, since you’ve admitted your wrongdoing, what do you plan to do? Don’t think you can get away with it by dragging the topic off track!”
“What do you mean, ‘what to do’? I’ve already told you the truth. You should be encouraging me; otherwise, next time, I won’t dare tell you the truth again. Besides, I know I was wrong, and I won’t make the same mistake in the future. How about I make a new pair of shoes for Father-in-law and Mother-in-law again? But you can’t sell me out and talk about this.”
Although Su Wenyue’s reasoning was skewed, it did make some sense, and Han Yu felt his daughter-in-law deserved some encouragement for being frank with him. So he decided to let Su Wenyue off temporarily, “I’ll keep this matter a secret. As for making new shoes for your father and mother, there’s no need. My mother may not have learned embroidery, and her embroidery may not be as good as yours, but her needle and thread skills are the result of decades of practice. The shoes she makes are comfortable and durable, we don’t need yours. Just remember to handmake all my clothes from now on.”
Once he had brought Su Wenyue into his domain and accepted this creature called wife who belonged completely to him, Han Yu’s possessiveness was very strong, even his birth mother had to understand her place. But he spoke with his typical disdain.
Su Wenyue, hearing Han Yu say this, knew that the matter was past and without significant repercussions; she felt relieved and her thoughts turned to other things. Smelling the odd scent in the air, she frowned in disgust, “Yuck, won’t you go take a bath quickly? The smell of sweat on you is nauseating.”
As Su Wenyue spoke, she pinched her little nose and waved her handkerchief with disgust as if trying to drive away the unpleasant smell in the air, another little gesture that made Han Yu’s teeth itch with irritation.
Han Yu bit his teeth; this little daughter-in-law, given an inch, would take a mile, and even dared to dislike her own man—it was simply asking for a lesson! Han Yu, always acting swiftly and decisively, grabbed Su Wenyue and covered her talkative little mouth with his own, kissing her hard. If it weren’t for the fact that he really was dirty and knew his wife liked cleanliness, he definitely wouldn’t have let Su Wenyue go so easily.
Su Wenyue was fuming inside. She was already a bit of a clean freak, and this filthy man, content with his own dirtiness, had now implicated her, which was unbearable! The thing she most detested was this; when she was with that man before, she never allowed him to touch her there, as saliva is so dirty.
Finally released by Han Yu, Su Wenyue’s first action was to wipe her mouth with her handkerchief, much to Han Yu’s annoyance. If it weren’t for the fact that it was getting late, he would have taught Su Wenyue a much harder lesson. This little daughter-in-law needed to be disciplined! But since she was already his wife, she wasn’t going anywhere. She could wait for him; he didn’t believe he couldn’t handle one little girl, especially one who thought she could look down on him!
Han Yu was a very confident man, which sometimes translated into a touch of arrogance and vanity in certain matters. Usually, it was he who looked down on others; when had it ever been his turn to be looked down upon, especially by his own daughter-in-law? Han Yu decisively became petty.