Returning to Old Madam Shen’s room, after Cao Ma-ma was stopped by a stern look from Shen Che and dared not follow, she didn’t dare to linger outside either. She hurriedly returned to Rui Ying Hall to report.
As soon as Cao Ma-ma entered, she saw the Old Madam clutching her prayer beads with closed eyes, counting them. Having served the Old Madam for decades, Cao Ma-ma knew from this gesture that the Old Madam had unresolvable worries on her mind.
“Miss,” Cao Ma-ma called softly.
“Didn’t Che let you follow?” the Old Madam asked.
Cao Ma-ma shook her head. “Not only did he not let me follow, but when I tried to say more, he scared me off with just a look. Forgive my impertinence, but I’ve always been favored in front of you, Miss. Usually, when the Second Young Master sees me, he’s all smiles. This is the first time I’ve seen him like this. I wonder where he’s taking Miss Cheng?”
Since Ji Cheng entered Rui Ying Hall, she had deliberately tried to get close to Cao Ma-ma. Cao Ma-ma’s status in the Shen family was almost half that of a master, and her words carried more weight than even Ji Lan’s. Ji Cheng had put in considerable effort with her.
However, Ji Cheng was also clever about it.
Cao Ma-ma had an only son who was inevitably spoiled from childhood. With the Old Madam as a strong backer, he indulged in cockfighting, visiting brothels, and gambling dens – he was everywhere. Although Cao Ma-ma had a respectable position with the Old Madam and received a generous monthly allowance, with the Old Madam giving her an extra twenty taels of silver each month, it was still a drop in the ocean because of her son.
People were constantly coming to collect debts. Although they didn’t dare to make a scene at the Cao house, their constant hovering outside the door was annoying.
The Ji family lacked many things, but not silver. Ji Cheng had people pay off Cao Ma-ma’s son’s gambling debts, but she never took credit for it, pretending to know nothing about it.
Everyone involved was clever. Although Cao Ma-ma didn’t want to be indebted to Ji Cheng, she had no way to control her precious son, so she let it slide into a muddle.
Over these days, Ji Cheng never asked Cao Ma-ma for trivial favors, showing great discretion. She didn’t try to cash in on the favors either, which further won Cao Ma-ma’s heart. Now, Cao Ma-ma naturally wanted to say a few words on Ji Cheng’s behalf.
The Old Madam kept her eyes closed. Cao Ma-ma glanced at her expression, initially not wanting to speak further, but she couldn’t help remembering Ji Cheng’s pleading look earlier that day.
The pleading look Ji Cheng gave Cao Ma-ma before boarding the sedan chair made even Cao Ma-ma’s heartache. She didn’t know how the young girl had offended Shen Che.
Cao Ma-ma understood Shen Che well. Despite his usual submissive and jesting behavior in front of the Old Madam, when had he ever been one to meddle in others’ affairs? Let alone caring so much about a distant cousin. Even when Su Yun was around, Shen Che never showed her any favor.
Feeling indebted, Cao Ma-ma spoke again: “Miss, what do you think? Even if it’s time to discuss marriage for Miss Cheng, it shouldn’t be Che handling it. If people found out, there might be suspicions.” This was a subtle way of saying that the matter was highly improper. For Ji Cheng’s marriage arrangements, Shen Che should have kept his distance. It’s not as if there weren’t other elders in the Shen and Ji families.
The Old Madam opened her eyes and said, “When you followed them out earlier, did you notice anything unusual?”
Cao Ma-ma couldn’t imagine what the Old Madam meant by “unusual.” She carefully recalled but found nothing amiss. “There was nothing out of the ordinary.” Both were very proper. Ji Cheng kept her head lowered the entire time, not saying a word, and Shen Che didn’t speak either.
Hearing this, the Old Madam’s prayer beads paused, and she let out a long sigh.
Cao Ma-ma quickly asked, “Miss, is something wrong?”
The Old Madam replied, “No irregularity is a great irregularity in itself. He’s taking Cheng to meet a potential match. Even if a young woman is shy and reserved, shouldn’t she ask at least one question at a time? But did you see Cheng ask anything?”
Cao Ma-ma immediately slapped her thigh. “I felt something was off but couldn’t put my finger on it. Now that you mention it, Miss, that’s exactly it.”
“Do you mean, Miss, that Cheng already knew about Che arranging her marriage?” Cao Ma-ma asked, puzzled. She suddenly remembered Ji Cheng’s character. Given how well she managed to ingratiate herself, it wasn’t impossible that she had privately persuaded Shen Che to help with her marriage. “Could it be that Cheng was overeager and privately asked Che to help arrange her marriage?”
The Old Madam shook her head. Cao Qing had served her for so many years solely because of her loyalty, but her mind was indeed a bit slow. If not for this, the Old Madam wouldn’t have married Cao Ma-ma to a household manager to keep a close eye on her.
“Do you know Cheng’s nature? How could she possibly bypass me to persuade Che to help with her marriage? It’s improper for Che to be involved, and Cheng wouldn’t do such a foolish thing. Besides, when Che brought up the marriage, I saw her look of surprise,” the Old Madam said.
Now the Old Madam couldn’t help but recall the scene. Although Ji Cheng stayed by her side and refused to leave, she didn’t lift her head when Shen Che entered. As for her grandson, he hardly bothered to conceal his feelings, glancing at Ji Cheng with every word he spoke.
It was as if he was waiting for Ji Cheng to speak.
The Old Madam’s eyes widened. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but thinking back now, she noticed that Shen Che was waiting for Ji Cheng’s reaction with every word he said. But Ji Cheng did not react at all, and her subsequent compliance seemed to imply a complete acceptance of whatever Shen Che said, almost as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
“Ah, what a predicament. I wonder what exactly happened between these two,” the Old Madam couldn’t help but complain.
Hearing this, Cao Ma-ma was surprised. “Miss, are you saying that Che and Cheng…”
Besides matters of the heart, the Old Madam couldn’t think of any other entanglement between Ji Cheng and Shen Che. “I’m just guessing, but it’s probably not far from the truth. You’ve watched Che grow up. Although he can be a bit unrestrained, when has he ever meddled in his cousin’s affairs? He rarely even comments on Ah Yuan or Ah Cui’s matters, at most only speaking about Ah Rong. Now he’s suddenly arranging Cheng’s marriage out of the blue. What do you think is the reason?”
Cao Ma-ma couldn’t fathom why, and could only look at the Old Madam with a puzzled expression. “Could it be that Cheng is infatuated with Che, and he’s grown tired of it? Seeing how fond you are of Cheng, perhaps he decided to arrange her marriage to completely end her fantasies?”
The Old Madam truly lamented Cao Ma-ma’s slow wit, no wonder her son turned out so useless. “If Che wanted to end someone’s fantasies, why would he need to use such an unconventional method? Do you remember how he treated Yun back then?”
Cao Ma-ma certainly remembered. “If it’s not that, then I truly can’t figure out the reason.”
The Old Madam had her suspicions but then thought it unlikely. If her Che had taken a liking to Ji Cheng, he wouldn’t need to beat around the bush with her. He had even dared to bring Fang Xuan before her, and Ji Cheng’s background was much better than Fang Xuan’s – at least she was a proper young lady from a respectable family. The only reason the Old Madam could think of was that Ji Cheng didn’t fancy Shen Che.
But if Ji Cheng had agreed to marriage with the He and Ye families, there was no reason she wouldn’t accept the Shen family. The Old Madam was well aware that Ji Cheng’s attachment to the Shen family was precisely to secure a good marriage.
The Old Madam understood Ji Cheng. With her beauty, marrying into an ordinary family might not be a blessing. Moreover, it was natural for people to seek advancement, just as water flows downhill. Ji Cheng’s desire for a prestigious marriage was a normal aspiration.
The more the Old Madam thought, the more her head ached. She couldn’t untangle the complications between Shen Che and Ji Cheng, and could only wait for them to return to observe more closely.
Thus, as soon as Ji Cheng and Shen Che entered the side gate, waiting maids came forward to greet them.
Upon seeing Ji Cheng, the Old Madam pulled her to sit by her side. “How was it? Don’t be shy. A man should marry when he comes of age, and a woman should marry when she’s grown. Just say what’s on your mind.”
Ji Cheng remained silent, only nodding shyly for show. Even though she prided herself on being a better actor than opera performers, at this moment, feigning shyness was already Ji Cheng’s limit. If she said one more word, she might not be able to maintain her composure.
Seeing Ji Cheng’s apparent bashfulness, the Old Madam patted her hand and sighed heavily. “With your qualities and beauty, I originally had selfish thoughts of keeping you in our Shen family. Now, I don’t know which family’s young master has caught your eye. It must be a blessing from his previous life.”
The Old Madam’s words were vague, and Ji Cheng found them strange. From Ji Cheng’s perspective, the Old Madam had never shown any intention of keeping her in the Shen family. Suddenly inserting such a statement now, even if it was just a polite formality, seemed quite out of place.
Could there be something she didn’t know about? Ji Cheng naturally didn’t know that Shen Yu had mentioned her to the Old Madam, and while the Old Madam didn’t approve, she hadn’t opposed it either. In Ji Cheng’s view, Shen Yu’s feelings for her were far from the point of mentioning her to the Old Madam. If anyone had said something to the Old Madam, the most likely candidate would be Shen Jing.
But the Old Madam, though old, was far from senile. She wouldn’t casually say such things, leaving Ji Cheng completely puzzled, her eyes full of confusion. Ji Cheng had another worry: with the Old Madam speaking this way, wouldn’t Shen Che misunderstand and think she had privately influenced the Old Madam somehow? Ji Cheng was concerned about the Ji and Ling families, fearing that Shen Che might take out his anger on them again.
The Old Madam’s gaze never left Ji Cheng’s face. Apart from confusion, there was even a hint of anxiety on her face – the most inappropriate expression for this situation. Although the Old Madam couldn’t guess the reason, she was almost certain that Ji Cheng harbored no unusual feelings for Shen Che.
Looking at Shen Che, the Old Madam couldn’t help but sigh. In the past, he had at least tried to hide his feelings in front of her, only occasionally glancing at Ji Cheng, and always scanning her room for other people when paying his respects. But this time, he was openly staring at Ji Cheng without any attempt to conceal it.
But to say Shen Che was constantly looking at Ji Cheng wasn’t entirely accurate either. When Ji Cheng pretended to be shy, perhaps finding it painful to watch, he couldn’t help but turn away. This reminded the Old Madam of Shen Che’s childhood mannerisms, which were the same.
After all, old ginger is spicier. With just one sentence, the Old Madam had uncovered the subtleties between the two.
“Which family’s young master is this potential match from?” the Old Madam looked up at Shen Che and asked.