A Records Of An Alpha’s Life In Ancient Times - Chapter 11

Before she managed to anger Lin Weizhi, Shen Qingshu had nearly angered herself to death first.

Calm down. She had to calm down.

She soothed her emotions, picked up the teacup, gulped down two mouthfuls, and heavily set it back on the table.

The teacup struck the stone table with a sharp “pa.” Lin Weizhi seemed startled and trembled slightly.

Shen Qingshu noticed it and immediately came up with a plan.

Even if you’re a feudal woman who treats her husband as heaven and obeys him in everything, you should still be afraid of pain and death, right? Surely no one could tolerate a husband who liked domestic violence.

“Sigh, this weather.” Shen Qingshu slapped the stone table heavily. Seeing Lin Weizhi tremble again, she endured the guilt in her heart and continued in a fierce, nasty tone, “It’s really too hot. Whenever the weather gets hot, fire rises in my heart. I just want to hit someone, to vent a little.”

A frightened expression appeared on Lin Weizhi’s face, and she seemed to shrink back slightly.

Shen Qingshu was delighted. She grew even more irritable, pulled out her fan, and fanned herself hard. Then she slapped the table twice more. “Too hot. Too hot.”

“Young Master Shen, you…” Lin Weizhi looked at her somewhat nervously.

Shen Qingshu shot her a fierce glance. “Hm?”

Lin Weizhi’s eyes were filled with pure concern. With an utterly serious expression, she suggested, “Would you like me to call a guard for Young Master Shen? You could spar with him and vent a little.”

“…”

Ah, this…

With her current small body, without using mental power, would she be the one beating the guard, or would the guard beat her?

Shen Qingshu quickly refused. “No, no need.”

Lin Weizhi still seemed very worried and frowned. “Really no need? I think Young Master Shen still looks very hot.”

“No, no, no. I’m fine now. I’m not hot anymore.” Shen Qingshu hurriedly put the fan away.

“All right then.” Since she had not managed to help Young Master Shen, Lin Weizhi even looked rather regretful. She lowered her head, hiding the trace of teasing laughter in her eyes.

Shen Qingshu sighed. She had forgotten. With her current identity, not only could she hit her wife, she could also hit servants.

She could only say these things with her mouth. If she really had to hit someone, she truly could not bring herself to do it.

And people who hit their wives were scum.

Violent and irritable: also failed.

These points, in Shen Qingshu’s view, all stepped on her bottom line. She could not tolerate a single one of them. But this Miss Lin truly was like a ball of dough. No matter how Shen Qingshu kneaded and poked at her, she remained unmoved.

Shen Qingshu was actually a little puzzled too. But today was only her first time meeting Miss Lin. The other party should not know her character or her intentions.

Moreover, Lin Weizhi’s performance was completely flawless, leaving Shen Qingshu unable to tell whether she was truly brainless or just acting to mess with her.

After all, Shen Qingshu came from the future world and did not really understand the thoughts of ancient women. There were several hundred generation gaps between them.

After this round of back-and-forth, pretending to be a dandy and a rogue left Shen Qingshu feeling rather tired. Besides, she was still an outside man in name, and it was not proper for her to stay in the inner residence for too long, so she simply stood up and took her leave.

Once she thought of a good strategy, she would come back and fight another day.

Lin Weizhi even rose and tried to keep her there reluctantly. “Young Master Shen is leaving already? Why not stay a little longer?”

Shen Qingshu directly delivered a triple farewell. “No need. Goodbye. No need to see me off. Please stay.”

It was practically fleeing in defeat.

A maid came over to tidy the teacups. Seeing the faint smile at the corner of Lin Weizhi’s lips, she said with a smile, “Miss and this Young Master Shen get along very well. That’s wonderful.”

Lin Weizhi could not help letting out a soft laugh.

They did indeed get along very well!

She lazily flipped through the pages of her book and murmured very softly, “So stupid.”

Who she was talking about was unknown.

On the other side, Shen Qingshu brought Fu An back to the inn, feeling very defeated.

Were ancient women’s thought processes all this strange and extraordinary?

She truly could not think of what sort of man that Miss Lin would be unable to tolerate.

Based on her performance today, Shen Qingshu estimated that if she were made to marry and then spend her whole life alone in an empty room, she would probably accept it gladly.

Then even if Shen Qingshu married her, there would be no real problem.

No, that would not do either. It did not fit Shen Qingshu’s principles.

She had no idea how Lord Lin had raised her. This little girl’s values were too crooked. Shen Qingshu could not stand by and do nothing. She had to help straighten her out.

Thinking of this, Shen Qingshu instructed, “Fu An, go call Chao Yu over for me.”

Chao Yu soon came over. “Young Master, what are your orders?”

If this were the future, Shen Qingshu could still ask netizens. As for now, Chao Yu was an authentic ancient woman, so Shen Qingshu estimated that she would understand the needs of women in this era better.

Shen Qingshu pointed to the stool. “Sit first. I have a few things to ask you.”

Chao Yu also knew this young master’s personality, so she obediently sat down. “Young Master, please ask.”

Shen Qingshu asked in confusion, “Suppose your husband was lustful, violent, and irritable, and he controlled his wife very strictly, not allowing her to read or practice writing. Could you tolerate that?”

Chao Yu paused, then nodded. “I could tolerate it.”

Ah?

Even though she had expected something like this, Shen Qingshu still found it unbelievable. Were ancient women all this magnanimous?

Could it be that the strange one was not Miss Lin, but her?

“Why could you tolerate it?”

“That isn’t really a major problem.”

That was not a major problem?

Shen Qingshu pressed, “Then what do you think would be a major problem that couldn’t be tolerated?”

Chao Yu tilted her head and thought for a moment. “Probably being too useless and too lazy, unable to earn money to support the family, hiding behind women when something happens, liking gambling and fighting… things like that.”

“…”

Shen Qingshu was speechless.

Just how low were ancient women’s requirements for men?

She had lost.

She waved her hand and let Chao Yu leave.

She had asked the wrong person. Chao Yu was only a maid. How could her expectations of a husband be similar to Miss Lin’s?

However, from this, it could also be seen that ancient women had relatively low requirements for a husband’s private morals, but relatively high requirements for ability.

Looking at it this way, she had already placed first in the county exam and was about to take the academy exam. Her future potential was limitless. Once she inherited the count’s title, there would be no problem at all with a life of glory, wealth, and luxury.

Shen Qingshu felt that she had completely figured it out.

Also, this Miss Lin was only thirteen. She probably had not even met many unrelated men. Shen Qingshu had to let her know that there were countless good men under heaven, and there was no need to pick a man out of a trash heap.

——

After visiting Lord Lin several more times, Shen Qingshu still could not find an opportunity to make her request. It was not until Madam Lin summoned her over for a meeting that things changed.

As the saying went, the more a mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the more pleased she became. But for some reason, this Madam Lin seemed very cold toward her.

She looked no more than thirty or so. Unlike the noblewomen of the capital, who were required to appear dignified and grand in every respect, she wore plain blue clothes and a wooden hairpin, dressed very simply.

Her appearance was that of a typical Jiangnan beauty, with a fine forehead and moth-like brows. Only, her face looked as if it were wearing a mask, and her expression always unconsciously revealed a desolate sadness.

She had clearly been the one who asked to meet, but after they met, she did not chat about anything. She only stared at Shen Qingshu, thoughts unknown, her expression shifting unpredictably between sorrow and joy.

Perhaps Madam Lin believed in Buddhism. The sandalwood incense indoors curled upward, so thick it was pungent.

Sitting in such an awkward and silent environment, Shen Qingshu grew restless and uneasy. She took the initiative and prompted, “Auntie…”

Madam Lin came back to herself. She stopped looking at her and removed the prayer beads from her wrist, slowly moving them one by one between her fingers. After turning through the whole circle, she suddenly gave a cold laugh.

“Heh.”

In such a quiet room, the sound was clearly audible. Even if Shen Qingshu wanted to pretend she had not heard it, she could not.

She was deeply confused. This was their first meeting. What exactly was Madam Lin dissatisfied with her about?

Of course, Shen Qingshu wanted to break off the engagement, so it was a good thing for Madam Lin to be dissatisfied with her. But at least say it out loud. Acting so silent and wordless made Shen Qingshu feel utterly baffled too.

In the frozen atmosphere, one could have heard a pin drop. There was only the faint sound of prayer beads being moved. It was a blazing hot day, yet it felt freezing.

Shen Qingshu had nothing to fear, so she simply said directly, “If Auntie has nothing else, may this nephew take his leave first and ask to meet Miss Lin?”

Madam Lin lowered her head, making her expression hard to see. After turning the beads through another circle, she instructed the maid beside her indifferently, “All right. Lead him to Miss’s side.”

Shen Qingshu was overjoyed and was too lazy to think about Madam Lin’s strange behavior anymore.

Sigh. With a mother like this, no wonder Miss Lin had developed that kind of personality.

When they met again, Lin Weizhi seemed very happy, and even her movements carried a bit of cheer.

After a few polite greetings, Shen Qingshu looked at the sky. It was clear for thousands of li, without a single cloud. She then suggested, “The weather is very nice today. Why don’t we go out for a walk?”

Lin Weizhi gave her a look that was not quite a smile. “Didn’t Young Master Shen dislike women showing their faces outside?”

It seemed she had indeed said that.

Shen Qingshu got stuck. She coughed twice and openly practiced double standards. “Going out with me doesn’t count. Besides, you can wear a veiled hat.”

Lin Weizhi curtsied. “Then I’ll go change clothes first. I’ll have to trouble Young Master Shen to wait a moment.”

“Hurry up. Don’t make me wait too long.” Shen Qingshu deliberately feigned impatience.

Lin Weizhi smiled and nodded. Sure enough, not long after, she came out. She had changed into a rose-red dress and was wearing a bright green veiled hat.

The corner of Shen Qingshu’s mouth twitched. She looked at her with an indescribable expression. “Why are you dressed like that? Can’t you change into something more low-key?”

It was truly an assault on the eyes.

“But Young Master Shen clearly said girls should wear reds and greens.”

Lin Weizhi lifted her veiled hat and looked at her with an aggrieved expression. Her lips were slightly pouted, her eyes rimmed red, as if tears might fall at any moment. Her voice was sweet and soft, and the ending note dragged out slightly, making one’s heart melt.

Excuse me?

Had she taken what Shen Qingshu said seriously, or was she actually teasing her?

Shen Qingshu truly could not tell.

She weakly held her forehead and moved her gaze away. “I take back what I said before. You should change into something simpler.”

“All right then.” Lin Weizhi still looked unwilling and slowly turned back to change into a white dress.

The two of them left the residence, and the carriage was already waiting at the entrance.

The carriage compartment was still rather high. When Lin Weizhi got in, she had a little difficulty. Shen Qingshu subconsciously reached out to help her.

But she quickly reacted. This was too considerate. It did not fit her persona.

So she immediately withdrew her hand.

At that exact moment, Lin Weizhi had reached out to place her hand on Shen Qingshu’s, leaving it frozen in midair.

“…”

The scariest thing was when the air suddenly went quiet.

Shen Qingshu felt a little awkward at once. But for the sake of matching her persona, she decisively turned and boarded the carriage.

As long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassed one will be someone else.

Only, for some reason, she felt that her neck was a little chilly.

There seemed to be a murderous aura.