This made Ji Cheng extremely uneasy. She remembered when she and He Cheng were discussing marriage, Shen Che didn’t say a word either. She thought he had tacitly approved, but it turned out he already knew Wang Si Niang would play tricks. He was just standing by, waiting for her to fall into the trap.
“Um, did you see everything this afternoon?” Ji Cheng’s outward unease was far more apparent than her inner turmoil.
Shen Che raised an eyebrow and poured Ji Cheng a cup of tea. “So you think I should be drowning my sorrows in wine because of this?”
How could that be?! Ji Cheng said, “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Shen Che lowered his eyelids to look at the teacup, as if Ji Cheng was less attractive than a clay-fired teacup. “What do you want me to say?”
Ji Cheng also looked at the celadon Jun kiln imitation teacup in Shen Che’s hand and said, “I didn’t…”
Shen Che shook his head, “No need to explain. I believe you. With your intelligence, how could you not know that you and my elder brother have no possibility? You wouldn’t waste your thoughts on him.”
If she wasn’t the person involved, Ji Cheng would have given Shen Che a thumbs up. She did know, which was why she had been trying to avoid Shen Yu as much as possible. If it weren’t for not wanting to hurt Hong’er’s feelings, she wouldn’t have gone to Chang Heng Courtyard. The one acting abnormally was Shen Yu. Unfortunately, some people came too late.
Although Shen Che’s words had a hint of sarcasm, as long as there was no misunderstanding, it was fine. For now, Ji Cheng only wanted to maintain the status quo. It wasn’t time to fall out with Shen Che yet.
The day of Shen Yuan’s wedding was finally approaching. Even Shen Jing returned to the Shen residence a day early from Dongshan Academy. Ji Cheng didn’t accompany the Old Madam to entertain guests. On such a joyous occasion, the Old Madam couldn’t neglect Ji Lan’s face as the Third Madam. So after Ji Lan was released, she had been helping the Old Madam take care of guests from afar. Naturally, Ji Cheng had to follow Ji Lan.
Ji Lan didn’t make things difficult for Ji Cheng, but whenever she introduced Ji Cheng to guests, it was just a dry “This is my niece from my maiden family,” with nothing more to say. Ladies with a bit of common sense understood that Ji Lan was clearly showing her dislike for Ji Cheng. If even her aunt didn’t like her, what redeeming qualities could Ji Cheng have? Moreover, she was a bit too beautiful, which made people uneasy.
When Ji Cheng encountered those curious, probing gazes, she always responded with a faint smile, neither humble nor arrogant, exchanging a few pleasantries. She didn’t take Ji Lan’s tactics to heart. After all, regarding marriage prospects in the capital, Ji Cheng had given up for now.
On the eve of Shen Yuan’s wedding, Shen Cui was finally released. The Old Madam also instructed Ji Cheng to go back and keep Shen Cui company, after all, they were cousins. So Ji Cheng moved back to Ji Lan’s small side courtyard. Fortunately, she didn’t have much luggage. When she moved to the Old Madam’s place, she knew it wouldn’t be permanent, so she had left most of her larger belongings in the side courtyard.
As soon as Shen Cui returned to her room, she and Ji Lan, mother, and daughter burst into tears, crying for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before they finally stopped and began to talk.
Ji Lan looked Shen Cui up and down, seeing that not only had she not lost weight, but her cheeks had become a bit rounder, she knew her days had been good, just that she wasn’t allowed to go out.
“Mother, I was truly suffocating. Staying in the room, not allowed to go anywhere, learning etiquette, and embroidering dowry every day,” Shen Cui complained.
Ji Lan said, “Teaching you etiquette is for your good. I can see you’ve improved more than before. I used to be soft-hearted and couldn’t bear to push you, but now under the Old Madam’s hand, that monkey in you has finally been restrained.”
Shen Cui asked, “Mother, have you seen Brother Qi recently?”
At the mention of Qi Zheng’s name, Ji Lan’s mood soured. If it weren’t for him, how could she and her daughter have ended up in this situation? Even now, the Third Master still refuses to enter Ji Lan’s room. No matter how many tactics Ji Lan used or how much she tried to please him, she couldn’t keep Shen Ying in her room for even one night.
Couples may quarrel at the head of the bed and reconcile at the foot, but without a bed, how could they reconcile?
But the next month, Shen Cui married Qi Zheng. Ji Lan couldn’t curse her son-in-law. She could only resent that the first person Shen Cui cared about upon her release was Qi Zheng. It was truly a case of a daughter’s heart turning outward; once married, she would belong to another family.
“I haven’t seen him. After how he treated you, does he have the face to come to our house?” Ji Lan said irritably.
“Brother Qi didn’t do anything to me, did he?” Shen Cui’s days of confinement were so hard to endure, sustained only by memories of her sweetness with Qi Zheng. Now her mind was filled only with Qi Zheng’s goodness. She was about to marry him, shouldn’t she think of her husband’s good qualities rather than the bad? “Mother, how are the preparations for my wedding next month? It can’t be inferior to Second Sister’s.”
Of course not. The more guilty one feels the more one tries to maintain a shiny exterior. Originally, Ji Lan didn’t have much cash on hand, but now she was spending it all on Shen Cui.
For a girl about to marry, the dowry is of utmost concern, and Shen Cui was no exception. In the evening, nestled by Ji Lan’s side, she pestered to see her dowry list.
The dowry was naturally substantial. Large items like beds, wardrobes, and chaise lounges had been prepared since Shen Cui was young. Whenever suitable wood was found, it was bought and given to carpenters to start carving and chiseling. Each piece took three to five years of work.
It was said that the bed in Shen He’s dowry took a full eight years to complete. That bed was so heavy that even a horse-drawn carriage couldn’t move it; it took twenty to thirty people to load it onto a boat.
However, these were all inanimate objects, only good for show. Whether a daughter-in-law lives well in her husband’s family depends on the shops and cash in her dowry, especially for a family like the Qi family, where money was what they lacked most, not decorative items.
“Why is it only three thousand taels, Mother?” Shen Cui asked, somewhat dissatisfied.
Ji Lan laughed coldly, “To prepare for your wedding, I’ve spent all the money I could use. During the days I wasn’t here, Madam Fang was managing the household. Wouldn’t she pocket everything for herself? I can’t control your father now. Are you still complaining about this? Remember to be sweet-tongued. The Old Madam always gives a dowry for each granddaughter’s marriage.” When Shen He married, she was given twenty thousand taels of silver. Even Shen Yun had fifteen thousand taels, only slightly less than Shen He.
Shen Cui pouted. She hadn’t expected Ji Lan’s funds to be so depleted. She had even boasted to Qi Zheng that her dowry would be at least a hundred thousand taels.
“Keep these silver taels and what the Old Madam gives for yourself. Your future mother-in-law is a bottomless pit. No amount of money is enough for her to burn through. The Yunyang Marquis’s mansion has fallen so low now, but they still need to keep up appearances. Money flows like water there. If you don’t calculate carefully, you’ll soon end up unable to afford even ginseng. Don’t come crying to us then,” Ji Lan said. Although Shen Cui appeared fierce on the surface, with a sharp tongue and arrogant nature, she was quite foolish. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so easily tricked by Qi Zheng. Ji Lan was truly worried that Qi Zheng would have Shen Cui wrapped around his finger, and Shen Cui would have a bitter future ahead.
Shen Cui responded with a couple of perfunctory “Oh”s, then left Ji Lan and went straight to Ji Cheng’s room.
“Sister Cheng,” Shen Cui called with a smile. She and Ji Cheng had no fundamental conflicts, and it was Shen Cui who had wronged Ji Cheng by dragging her into trouble. Given Shen Cui’s nature, she naturally forgot about it if she could, and now she acted as if there was no grudge between her and Ji Cheng, acting coquettishly.
“Sister Cheng, what did you give to Sister Yuan for her dowry?” Shen Cui asked Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng replied, “I saved some gemstones from the Western Regions and gave a few to Sister Yuan. You’ve come at the right time. I still have some left. Why don’t you pick a few? The rest will be for Qian’s future dowry.”
Shen Cui pouted, not particularly interested in gemstones. She already had more than a dozen sets of jewelry. When Ji Lan was well-off, she had bought plenty for Shen Cui.
“Keep the gemstones for Sister Qian,” Shen Cui said.
How could Ji Cheng not see through Shen Cui’s thoughts? They were cousins after all, and although there had been unpleasantness, Ji Cheng had learned many lessons from Shen Che. Internal strife was not the way to go. “Then I don’t have anything good to give you. You know, the Ji family has nothing left but some vulgar silver. How about I convert it to silver for you?”
Shen Cui pretended to think for a moment, then said, “That’s true. What could I not have? Just give me silver then. In the future, if I see something I like, I can buy it myself. Consider it your contribution to my dowry.”
It wasn’t difficult to please Shen Cui. Ji Cheng smiled and said, “Alright, that saves me trouble.”
This way, both Ji Cheng and Shen Cui were happy. Ji Cheng spent five thousand taels of silver to buy peace, and Shen Cui got what she wanted. She was very pleased that Ji Cheng was so accommodating. Many of the arguments she had prepared went unused, such as asking her mother to take Ji Cheng to more social events to see if they could find another marriage prospect.
Shen Cui had heard about Ji Cheng’s experiences, with two failed marriage arrangements. While she felt sorry for Ji Cheng on the one hand, on the other, she felt inexplicably happy. In any case, seeing Ji Cheng inferior to herself in every way indeed made Shen Cui feel very comfortable.
In the evening, when Shen Che learned that Ji Cheng had added five thousand taels of silver to Shen Cui’s dowry, he just smiled and said, “I guess silver is the least valuable thing in your family.”
Ji Cheng pouted. No matter how little it was worth, it was still earned through hard work, accumulated penny by penny.
At night, Shen Che held Ji Cheng in his arms, his palm naturally resting on her lower abdomen. “Is your monthly cycle late this month?”
Ji Cheng had been dozing off, but Shen Che’s question startled her awake, breaking out in a cold sweat. Her cycle was usually very regular, typically coming two days early each month, but this month it was indeed three or four days late.
“But I’ve been taking the medicine every time,” Ji Cheng sat up and looked at Shen Che as if seeking confirmation from him.
Shen Che said, “Those medicines are all cold. Taking them regularly is not good for a woman’s body. When I prepared the medicine for you, I used very light doses and added some nourishing herbs. It’s certainly effective, but it can’t be 100% foolproof.”
Hearing this, Ji Cheng felt like slapping Shen Che a few more times. She was scared and pale. “But, if it’s true, what should we do?” Ji Cheng was on the verge of tears. She shouldn’t have trusted Shen Che.