Ji Cheng swung the sword a couple of times. “But when I saw you wiping it, it was straight. I thought it was a light sword.”
“It depends on how you use it,” Shen Che took the sword from Ji Cheng’s hand and demonstrated a few moves. The sword seemed to have grown a backbone, showing no signs of being a flexible sword.
Ji Cheng asked, “Who did you commission to forge this sword?” She was familiar with all the famous swordsmiths in Great Qin, but none were from Jin or the capital. She had even wanted to visit them before.
“Long Tu,” Shen Che replied.
“Long Tu?!” Ji Cheng exclaimed in surprise. Although Long Tu’s swords weren’t as famous as those of Mo Ye or Gan Jiang, this master swordsmith from two hundred years ago had only forged three swords in his lifetime, each one renowned. The imperial sword of Great Qin’s founding emperor was forged by Long Tu.
“That’s impossible. Long Tu only forged three swords in his lifetime,” Ji Cheng said.
“Mm-hmm,” Shen Che nodded, continuing to polish the precious sword. It was evident that he was exceptionally fond of it. “This one was forged before his death and given to his daughter, so the world doesn’t know about it.”
“He had a daughter?” Ji Cheng’s focus had shifted to gossip.
“Yes. But Long Tu was obsessed with swords and often neglected his daughter. It wasn’t until his old age, looking back on his life, that he realized his mistake. That’s why he forged this sword, naming it ‘Light Snow’.”
“How did you get this sword?” Ji Cheng asked. She had never heard anyone mention Long Tu’s descendants before, let alone this sword.
“Even the mightiest have unworthy descendants. When the family fell on hard times, they had to sell the sword to survive, so it ended up in the jianghu,” Shen Che handed the sword back to Ji Cheng. “Here, you can play with it.”
Ji Cheng could only describe her handling of this sword as “playing.” She plucked the blade and said, “Isn’t it a waste to give it to me?”
“Not at all. Light Snow is a sword for women. It may lack some of the sword’s spirit, but it has gained much in beauty. It’s perfect for you,” Shen Che said.
Unable to suppress her excitement, Ji Cheng stood up and said, “Then I’ll go to the courtyard and practice with it.”
Unfortunately, a flexible sword was not a light sword, and it was very difficult to master. Although Ji Cheng’s movements looked impressive, the flexible sword didn’t obey her commands at all, and she couldn’t perform the dragon-like sword dance she wanted.
Shen Che watched, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. “What are you doing? Are you using it as a rope?”
Feeling defeated, Ji Cheng threw the sword back to Shen Che and said, “I don’t want it anymore. I can’t control it.”
Shen Che said, “Sit down. Let me show you. The way you were doing it earlier would have Long Tu rolling in his grave.”
Of course, Shen Che wouldn’t perform a sword dance, but with Light Snow in his hands, it became a dance in itself. The sword’s radiance was like scattered snowflakes, with hints of a dragon’s roar in the clouds, and the power to summon phoenixes from the heavens.
After just two moves, Ji Cheng was dazzled and overwhelmed. Though deeply impressed, she naturally wouldn’t let Shen Che see it on her face.
“You weren’t using the right amount of force earlier. The technique for a flexible sword is completely different from a regular long sword,” Shen Che pulled Ji Cheng up, embraced her from behind, and held her hands to teach her how to exert force properly.
Ji Cheng wasn’t slow to learn. After five or six repetitions, she had grasped the key techniques. Though her performance couldn’t be called perfect, at least she could prevent the blade from flailing about wildly.
After several rounds, Ji Cheng was panting heavily and wanted to collapse onto the reed mat. But Shen Che said, “Go wash up. You’re covered in sweat and smell.”
Thanking the heavens, Ji Cheng lazily sat up. “Then I’ll head back first.”
Shen Che let out a cold laugh, “In such a hurry? Going back to help Hong’er make kites?”
He seemed to know quite a bit. Ji Cheng wondered if Shen Che, being a grown man, found it tedious to concern himself with the trivial matters of the women in the household. In her heart, Ji Cheng mirrored Shen Che’s cold laugh, but outwardly she pouted coyly, “Weren’t you the one who found me disgusting?”
Shen Che looked at Ji Cheng, twirling the teacup in his hand with an ambiguous smile. Ji Cheng felt uneasy under his gaze and could only turn her head away.
“Why were you hiding from me in the garden today?”
Ji Cheng glanced at Shen Che. So he had seen her then. But wasn’t this the kind of thing that should be tacitly ignored as if nothing had happened? Why would Shen Che suddenly bring it up?
“At that time, I was afraid…” Ji Cheng wasn’t sure of Shen Che’s intentions, so she carefully chose her words while watching his expression. “I was afraid Feng Qing would feel embarrassed.”
Shen Che said, “She’s embarrassed, but you’re fine with her clinging to me? Stealing my food, my things, and even trying to sleep in my bed.”
Ji Cheng’s eyes widened immediately. “How could you eavesdrop on my conversation with Hong’er?!”
Shen Che replied, “You were speaking so loudly, I could hear you from half a mile away. Is that how you mislead children? Will you do the same to your son in the future? What’s this about the Child-Giving Guanyin? Why don’t you just say the child crawls into the belly from the feet at midnight?”
Ji Cheng thought for a moment. “If I said it crawled in from the feet, Hong’er is so smart, he probably wouldn’t believe it.”
“Trying to joke with me, are you?” Shen Che pulled Ji Cheng close in one swift motion.
Ji Cheng cried out, “Don’t you find me smelly?”
Shen Che took a deep breath at Ji Cheng’s neck. “Indeed, it’s not pleasant. Why don’t we add some peach fragrance?”
After that incident, the room was always filled with a peach scent. Ji Cheng found it extremely annoying as if it were announcing their indiscretions to the world, but Shen Che seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Ji Cheng awkwardly pushed Shen Che away. “I’m going to take a bath.” She guessed that Shen Che probably wouldn’t let her off easily. At this point, she was already thoroughly muddied. How could she possibly come clean now?
“I’ll go check the water for you,” Shen Che stood up and entered the bathroom before Ji Cheng.
When Ji Cheng entered, she heard Shen Che ask, “Do you want me to attend to you?”
Ji Cheng rolled her eyes. In front of Shen Che, she had already lost all sense of dignity. She secretly hoped he would grow tired of her and leave her alone.
After bathing, Ji Cheng had barely approached Shen Che when he pulled her into his embrace. They lay intertwined on the reed mat, with Ji Cheng lazily finding a comfortable position, feeling her eyelids grow heavy.
Shen Che held Ji Cheng from behind, nibbling on her earlobe. At first, he was gently sucking, but as Ji Cheng was about to drift off to sleep, he suddenly bit down hard. The pain nearly made Ji Cheng jump up. Even if she was slow to realize it, she knew that Shen Che must be extremely upset today and was taking it out on her.
But she was merely Shen Che’s plaything. If the master wanted to vent his anger, what could Ji Cheng do but endure it?
So despite crying out in pain, Ji Cheng didn’t express any dissatisfaction. She continued to let her eyelids droop, ready to fall asleep. However, Shen Che seemed determined to antagonize her tonight. Every time she was about to fall asleep, he would viciously bite her. Was he treating her like a piece of pork?
“What’s wrong with you today?” Ji Cheng had been suppressing her temper to tolerate Shen Che, but even a clay figure has its limits. How could she endure such torment?
Shen Che just stared at Ji Cheng darkly without saying a word.
Ji Cheng’s mind raced, trying to guess what could have provoked the Second Young Master to act this way. Shen Che had mentioned Feng Qing earlier, so it couldn’t have been a casual remark. After pondering for a moment, Ji Cheng said, “Did Miss Feng Qing cling to you?” Ji Cheng recalled what Shen He had said; that little maid had already been sent away, obviously because Shen Che had seen through her tricks. It seemed she couldn’t stick to him after all.
“Sister He said that little maid has already been sent away. Feng Qing must feel guilty about this matter. Even if you embraced her, she couldn’t blame you. If it’s for the sake of family relations, at worst, you could just take her in,” Ji Cheng said quickly. She was also confused from exhaustion; how could she comment on whether Shen Che should take concubines or not?
Sure enough, Shen Che sneered, “One might think the Shen family had suddenly acquired a Second Young Mistress. You’re so quick to suggest your husband take a concubine. Afraid of not appearing virtuous enough?”
At this moment, Ji Cheng wished she could slap herself a few times. Wasn’t this just inviting humiliation?
“I spoke out of turn and overstepped my bounds,” Ji Cheng frankly admitted her mistake. “Then what else is Cousin angry about? I’ve never been able to guess Cousin’s thoughts. If you’re angry, why not just say it directly? It would save you from getting upset, while I remain clueless and end up offending you again.”
Ji Cheng’s expression was open and honest, which only made Shen Che’s face grow darker. He simply lay back and closed his eyes. “You can go now.”
That was the best possible outcome. Ji Cheng immediately got up nimbly and had just quietly reached the entrance of the secret passage when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Come back,” Shen Che tossed out impatiently, then walked back to lie down.
Ji Cheng made a face in the wardrobe where Shen Che couldn’t see her, thinking how fortunate it was that in a few days, she would no longer have to endure his mercurial moods.
Resignedly, Ji Cheng returned to Shen Che’s side and lay down again. As soon as she did, Shen Che flipped her over and pinned her down, biting her mouth hard.
Ji Cheng quickly covered her mouth. “Don’t bite here. How can I face people tomorrow if you leave marks?”
“So anywhere else is fine?” Shen Che raised an eyebrow.
Ji Cheng wailed. Shen Che always knew where to bite—places with plenty of soft flesh. Ji Cheng was in tears from the pain. She heard Shen Che’s breathing in her ear, along with his gritted teeth. “Next time you encounter such a situation, if I see you hiding again, I have ways to kill you, Ji Cheng.”
Ji Cheng felt utterly wronged. “How else could I have reacted at that time? It was so awkward. Besides, I was afraid of ruining Cousin’s good fortune.”
Shen Che gently bit Ji Cheng’s nose tip. “Don’t I know you well enough? With all your scheming, ten Feng Qings wouldn’t be a match for you. If you had just come out, how could Feng Qing dare to be so shameless?”
The accusation of shamelessness wasn’t just aimed at Feng Qing; Ji Cheng felt the knife cut deeper into her own heart. Shen Che didn’t want to marry Feng Qing himself, but out of consideration for his sibling relationship with Shen Yun, he used Ji Cheng as a shield. The more Ji Cheng thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.
Some people can wail loudly when they’re wronged, naturally drawing concern and care from others. But Ji Cheng could only swallow her tears and bear Shen Che’s fury.
Ji Cheng now realized that Shen Che’s earlier words were not at all false. If Ji Cheng’s body hadn’t been naturally flexible, she probably would have had her waist broken by Shen Che long ago. Killing her would indeed be no problem for him.