Chapter 46 – If There Is No Marriage Certificate, Would You Still Want to Take Me?

After the injuries on Mu Feng and the others had healed, Mu Lin and Mu Chen were once again sent by Shen Nian to take care of other matters.

On the 10th of August, Xia Yue got married, and Xia Tian also accompanied her for the wedding.

After Xia Yue returned home three days later, Xia Tian and Xia Yang discussed the matter. After getting Xia Yue and her husband’s agreement, they arranged for Xia Yue’s husband to work at the small workshop, since the Shengshi Restaurant had to handle a hundred braised chickens every day, and having more people would make things easier for them.

On the evening of the 10th of August, Shen Nian spoke to Xia Tian about returning to the capital at the end of the month.

“Back at the end of the month?” Xia Tian was surprised, thinking it would be much later, maybe even by the end of the year.

“Mm, they’ve already discovered this place. Although they haven’t found us yet, if we stay any longer, they will sooner or later track us down,” Shen Nian patiently explained.

“Then what about the poison in your body…” Xia Tian was concerned that Shen Nian’s poison hadn’t been fully removed yet. Would he be able to deal with his evil stepmother if he returned to the capital prematurely?

“It’s all been cleared. My internal energy has fully recovered,” Shen Nian assured.

“Really? Didn’t you say it might take until the end of the year to recover completely?” Xia Tian asked, confused. She turned to Mu Feng for confirmation.

Mu Feng nodded, “It’s true, sister-in-law. The master has fully recovered, and his internal energy is even stronger than before.”

She then looked back at Shen Nian, who also nodded with a smile.

“That’s great.”

Xia Tian thought for a moment and realized that over the past half month, while Mu Feng and the others were recovering, she had increased the amount of spiritual spring water to help them recover quickly. Shen Nian also drank it every day, which helped him recover quickly too.

“Since you’re leaving, I…” Xia Tian hesitated, unsure of how to say it or how they would feel about her joining them.

“It’s not just us!” Mu Feng pointed at himself and Shen Nian, then made a circular motion with his hand. “It’s us!”

“Me too?” Xia Tian was genuinely surprised. She hadn’t expected Shen Nian to really take her along.

She had thought that when he returned to the capital, she would go back to living a single life, though right now, it didn’t feel much different from being single.

She was from a farming family, and though Shen Nian had his men call her sister-in-law, she never thought of herself as his wife. She still had a sense of self-awareness.

In ancient times, class distinctions were strict. In fact, even in modern times, people still emphasized matching social standings, not to mention that Shen Nian was the legitimate eldest son of a marquis family. It was impossible to imagine that his family would agree to him marrying a peasant girl.

But it didn’t matter whether others agreed or not—at worst, she could just run away later!

At this point, since she had already come, why not go to the capital and take a look?

“Of course, you’re already our sister-in-law, you have to come with us!” Mu Feng was also surprised. After calling her sister-in-law for so long, could they really leave her behind?

Could it be that the master was ungrateful and didn’t want to take his sister-in-law?

Mu Feng gave Shen Nian a probing look.

Shen Nian shot him a sideways glance, then snorted, “What’s with that look? Do you think I’m that kind of person?” This kid was getting more and more bold, even daring to question his master.

Mu Feng shrank his neck, a little guilty.

Shen Nian looked at Xia Tian. “Of course, we’re taking you to the capital. After all, we have the marriage certificate.”

“But that was because the situation was special at the time?” Xia Tian muttered, a bit embarrassed.

At the time, the Xia family had essentially sold her to Shen Nian for money, and now she was afraid her position wasn’t legitimate.

“You don’t want to come with us?” Shen Nian’s heart sank slightly. He almost forgot that Xia Tian was very smart and had her own opinions.

Xia Tian investigated Shen Nian’s eyes and seriously asked, “If there were no marriage certificate, would you still want to take me with you?”

“I would,” Shen Nian replied seriously.

Seeing Shen Nian’s answer without hesitation, Xia Tian’s lips curled up into a quick smile. No matter what his feelings might be in the future, she believed that what he said now was sincere.

She would just treat it as an opportunity to gain more experience in the capital.

Reminder – There are men in the top right corner. Does it matter whether there are or not?

She still had her space, and even if things didn’t go well, she still had her skills. What was there to fear?

They couldn’t let her starve to death, could they?

“Then, I’ll go to the capital with you.”

Shen Nian and Mu Feng exchanged a glance, then both sighed in relief.

Now that they had decided to go to the capital, they would need to make some preparations.

The next day, Xia Tian first went to find Xia Yang.

“Big Brother, I might not be able to do business with you anymore.”

Xia Yang was shocked. “What’s wrong? Did Big Brother do something wrong?”

“No, I might have to go to the capital,” Xia Tian quickly waved her hand, afraid he would misunderstand.

“To the capital?” Xia Yang’s voice rose by an octave in surprise.

“Shh, keep your voice down.” Xia Tian glared at her brother. “I’m only telling you right now, don’t tell anyone else where I’m going.”

“Why? No, what are you going to the capital for?” Xia Yang didn’t understand. What was there to hide? Why would anyone need to go to the capital from here?

“It’s Brother Shen. His family is in the capital. His younger brother came to find him not long ago. Now they want to take him back, so how can I not go?” Xia Tian said half-jokingly.

“Oh, so your brother-in-law’s family is from the capital. You’re going to follow them there.”

“Actually, Brother Shen’s family situation is a bit complicated. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s going back to the capital, so don’t tell anyone at home for now. If they ask, just say I’m going to my hometown.” She whispered, worried that if anyone chasing Shen Nian caught up with them, it might cause trouble for Xia Yang and the others.

“Got it, I’ll remember that.” Xia Yang nodded.

“Brother, if I leave, what if Grandma and the others come to cause trouble for you?” Two months ago, Grandma Xia had come with her uncles to cause trouble for their business, but Xia Tian had chased them off.

Family ties were still family, and it wasn’t possible to completely sever them.

In this era, filial piety was everything. If she didn’t follow the rules, Grandma Xia would cause a ruckus, and her father wouldn’t be able to bear it.

The best solution was to stay far away from them.

“I don’t know. I’ve given them money to appease them, but I’m afraid they’ll get greedy and keep causing trouble,” Xia Yang scratched his head, troubled. This wasn’t something that could be solved by splitting up. Unless their grandparents passed away, they would have to keep dealing with them.

“Brother, how about you move to the county town?” Xia Tian suggested.

“Move to the county? What about the business?”

“Ah, you can just open another shop in the county. We’ll leave this one to me and my brother-in-law to run. Anyway, you’re in Qingquan Town, and he’s in Lingxi County, so it won’t affect the business.”

Xia Yang thought for a moment and was tempted. “That seems doable. If we move to the county, we wouldn’t have to worry about Grandma causing trouble anymore.”

“Exactly. Also, now that Xia Shiji is in school, he’s doing well with his lessons. If we move to the county, he could continue his studies there and might even pass the imperial examination and become a scholar one day.”

“Yeah, I heard the teachers in the county are very well-educated, and the schooling there is better,” Xia Yang said excitedly. Moving to the county seemed like a good idea.

After a few months of experience, Xia Yang was no longer the naive person he used to be. Now, he could handle business on his own, independent, and capable.

Although he hadn’t mastered the art of smooth negotiation, he had learned to be flexible.

With his smart and capable sister-in-law helping him, he was sure he would keep growing stronger.

“Well, I’ll talk to Dad and Mom, and discuss it with your sister-in-law.”