As the carriage turned the corner, Ji Cheng saw that the man wearing the sapphire blue robe was not Shen Che.
Ji Cheng rubbed her temples, unable to believe she had mistaken someone else for him. She couldn’t help but mock herself, though after the self-mockery came an overwhelming sense of relief.
Upon realizing her relief, Ji Cheng suddenly felt dazed. What was wrong with her? She had mistaken a mere shadow for Shen Che, suspiciously followed it, and then felt elated when the misunderstanding was cleared. But what if it had been him? What would she have done then?
Ji Cheng raised her hand to her forehead, hardly able to believe she had fallen to this state, just like Madam Yun years ago.
Although Madam Yun was Ji Cheng’s mother, Ji Cheng had to admit that she deeply disapproved of her mother’s behavior. Always suspected her father of keeping mistresses, investigating every rumor, then returning home unable to confront Ji Qing, only hiding in bed corners crying and complaining with bitter words.
When had she, Ji Cheng, learned to act like Madam Yun?
Ji Cheng found it absurd and terrifying, practically fleeing back to the Shen residence.
The carriage entered through the side gate of Qing Garden. As soon as Ji Cheng alighted, she heard the groom behind her call out, “Second Young Master.”
Ji Cheng turned to see Shen Che dismounting from his horse. It was rare for him to return during the day.
Ji Cheng moved aside. Shen Che tossed his riding crop to the groom and walked past Ji Cheng without sparing her even a glance, heading straight inside.
The surprised looks from those around made Ji Cheng’s face burn. Fortunately, her thick skin prevented her from crying on the spot, and she managed to maintain a calm expression as she walked towards Jiuli Courtyard.
At this moment, Ji Cheng wished she had Madam Yun’s ability to cry and make a scene without caring about consequences, to grab Shen Che’s collar and ask him what he wanted. What did she need to do for him to look at her again?
Unfortunately, Ji Cheng couldn’t bring herself to do anything. She was terrifyingly calm and numb, feeling like a monster even to herself.
Ji Cheng leaned blankly against the window frame, staring at the bright yellow wintersweet blossoms on the brown branches outside.
When Liuye’er cautiously called out to Ji Cheng, the thought that flashed through her mind was that she seemed to have smelled the scent of rouge on Shen Che as he passed by earlier.
Ji Cheng didn’t believe Shen Che kept a mistress outside. If he liked, he could bring a new woman into the household every day, and who could stop him?
But Shen Che was always surrounded by various women, either to conceal his whereabouts or to use them. There was never a shortage of beauties, plump or slender, and he likely engaged in many casual affairs.
As for her feelings towards Shen Che, after the initial anger of betrayal, they gradually faded to indifference with time. Ji Cheng knew she shouldn’t think this way, as it seemed like making excuses for herself, but she couldn’t help but speculate.
Seeing Ji Cheng not responding for a long time, Liuye’er called out again, “Miss, it’s time for dinner.”
Ji Cheng finally came to her senses, realizing she had been sitting there all afternoon.
Remembering Fan Zengli’s request, Ji Cheng, after having dinner and paying respects to the Old Madam, went to the Third Master’s residence in Tiemao Alley.
The Third Master should be home from court by now. Ji Cheng had originally planned to ask Shen Jing to inquire but ultimately decided against it due to concerns about rumors. Thus, she had no choice but to ask Third Master Shen Ying for help.
Seeing Ji Cheng, Ji Lan couldn’t help but mock, “Second Young Madam, you’re stepping on the lowly ground with your noble feet.”
“Aunt,” Ji Cheng bowed to Ji Lan, then to Shen Ying.
Shen Ying was both Ji Cheng’s uncle by marriage and her paternal uncle. As Ji Cheng was now a married woman, he, as a man, should maintain some distance. “It’s my nephew’s wife. You two talk. I’ll go to the front study, I still have some official documents to review.”
Ji Cheng quickly said, “Uncle, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Shen Ying, who had already stood up, sat back down upon hearing Ji Cheng’s words. “Speak, we’re all family. There’s no need for formalities.”
“You may consider her family, but she might not see you as such,” Ji Lan coldly snorted from the side.
Hearing this, Shen Ying frowned. When Ji Lan was young, she wasn’t like this. How had she become so narrow-minded in her old age? It was irritating. He couldn’t help but rebuke, “If the elders don’t act like elders, how can they blame the younger generation for not behaving like juniors?”
Ji Lan was filled with anger but didn’t dare to express it in front of Shen Ying. Ji Cheng also felt her face burning upon hearing this. Although Ji Lan had been in the wrong years ago, Ji Cheng indeed hadn’t shown the proper respect as a junior.
Shen Ying’s words weren’t directed at Ji Cheng. He turned to her and said kindly, “Ah Che’s wife, just tell me what you need.” Shen Ying was quite pleased that Ji Cheng had come to ask for his help. What could be the matter that neither the first nor the second branch could resolve, requiring her to come to him? This undoubtedly made Shen Ying feel quite important.
Ji Cheng then explained that Ji Yuan would be participating in the imperial examination this year and wanted to inquire about who the chief examiner would be.
Shen Ying stroked his beard, thinking that indeed, only he could help with this. The children of the first and second branches weren’t pursuing the path of imperial examinations and weren’t familiar with the civil officials.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll inquire about it. However, His Majesty hasn’t made up his mind yet, so it’s hard to guess. I’ll let you know when I have definite news in a few days,” Shen Ying said.
Ji Cheng quickly expressed her gratitude.
Ji Lan pursed her lips and said, “Doesn’t Ah Che have many friends outside? He’s always the most well-informed. As husband and wife, wouldn’t it be better to discuss such matters with him? Why come to your Third Uncle instead?”
Ji Lan was asking a question she already knew the answer to. By now, everyone in the family had probably heard rumors that Shen Che was somewhat distant from Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng showed no sign of embarrassment and smiled naturally, “How could my husband be as familiar with court affairs as Uncle? That’s why I’ve come to trouble Uncle, thick-skinned as I am.”
Shen Ying laughed, “It’s just a small matter, hardly any trouble. If Ah Yuan has time, tell him to come over. I’d like to check on his studies.”
Ji Cheng was about to express her thanks again when Shen Jing entered.
Seeing Shen Jing, Ji Lan forgot about Ji Cheng and immediately asked, “Have you been to see Ah Rui at your in-laws’?” Ji Lan had a typical personality of fawning over superiors and bullying inferiors. Even though Li Rui looked down on her and she was unhappy about it, she still endured it, thinking that if Shen Jing were to be posted elsewhere in the future, she might need to rely on his in-laws’ influence.
Shen Jing said, “I didn’t go. The palace examination is in a couple of days. I don’t want to argue with her.”
“Oh, you…”
Ji Lan wanted to scold Shen Jing a bit more, but saw that he had already turned to Ji Cheng and said, “Sister Cheng, why are you here?”
“What ‘Sister Cheng’? Why haven’t you changed to calling her Second Sister-in-law?” Ji Lan immediately frowned so hard she could have killed a mosquito between her brows.
Shen Jing opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to say “Second Sister-in-law.”
Ji Cheng hardly dared to look at Shen Jing’s burning eyes and just smiled faintly, “I came to ask Uncle for help. It’s getting late, I should head back.”
Ji Cheng left somewhat hastily, while Shen Jing, under Ji Lan’s disapproving gaze, asked Shen Ying, “Father, what help did Sister Cheng ask for?”
Shen Ying was a man’s man, not as detail-oriented as Ji Lan, and didn’t pay much attention to Shen Jing’s form of address. After all, Ji Cheng was originally Shen Jing’s cousin. “She asked me to find out who the chief examiner will be this year.”
Shen Jing made a sound of acknowledgment, secretly noting this in his mind. He realized he had been negligent; Ji Yuan would be taking the exam this year, so of course they would be concerned about who the examiner would be.
Looking at Shen Jing’s expression, Ji Lan worried that he hadn’t gotten over Ji Cheng. If he were to do something shameful, it would be too late for regrets.
“Ah Jing,” Ji Lan was about to speak but was interrupted by Shen Jing.
“Mother, I know what I’m doing. Li Rui may have married into our family as a daughter-in-law, but she wasn’t married to be treated like an ancestor. It’s all because of my lack of filial piety that you have to endure her attitude. But this can’t go on forever. This time, I won’t back down no matter what. If she wants to come back, she can. If not, we’ll divorce. Do you think I, a grown man, can’t stand on my own without her family’s support?” Shen Jing said coldly.
This speech left Ji Lan speechless. Shen Ying chimed in from the side, “That’s right. What’s the point of a grown man always relying on his in-laws? Ah Jing is ambitious. Besides, since when did our Shen family need to beg the Li family for anything?”
In the end, it all came down to Ji Lan’s rivalry with her sisters-in-law, unwilling to lose to them or to humble herself and ask her own family for help.
After returning to his courtyard, Shen Jing threw himself onto the bed, his mind flooded with countless thoughts. If it hadn’t been for his mother’s firm opposition to Ji Cheng entering their family, they wouldn’t be in this situation now.
Ji Cheng and his second brother had become an ill-fated couple. His second brother had won a beauty but failed to cherish her, which pained Shen Jing deeply, yet he was powerless to help. As for Shen Jing himself, he found Li Rui’s demeanor increasingly irritating. That woman had absolutely no redeeming qualities, making him wish he could stuff a sock in her mouth. Now that she had returned to her maiden home, it truly felt like peace had been restored to the world, and he no longer had to listen to her acidic remarks.
Shen Jing didn’t want to think about Li Rui, but suddenly Ji Cheng’s image floated into his mind. She seemed to have lost more weight, her face almost disappearing within the fur-trimmed cloak.
Shen Jing sighed. The long night stretched before him, yet sleep eluded him. He decided to get up and go to his study. Unable to focus on reading, he picked up books only to put them down again. On a whim, he unrolled a scroll and began to paint, pouring all the beautiful images in his mind onto the paper. By dawn, as he looked at the painting, his emotions had finally calmed somewhat.
Although the painting was in ink, it captured the essence of the subject vividly. Shen Jing couldn’t bear to burn it, so he rolled it up and hid it at the bottom of his painting jar.
Time flew by, and soon it was June. The relationship between Ji Cheng and Shen Che remained as strained as before, or perhaps even worse. At least in the previous months, Shen Che had made some effort to maintain appearances in front of the elders, but recently, he couldn’t even be bothered to pretend to care about Ji Cheng in front of the Old Madam.
The news of the Second Young Madam falling out of favor had spread from being the talk of the town to becoming old news. If not for Ji Cheng’s strong-handed approach and the Old Madam’s refusal to treat her coldly despite Shen Che’s disdain, Ji Cheng might have lost control of the old servants in the Duke’s mansion long ago.
The June sun was scorching, its glare so bright that one could barely open their eyes. Even standing still would cause one to break out in sweat.
However, with Shen Zheng’s wedding day approaching, Ji Cheng had to muster up her energy and put on a smile to entertain guests, no matter how exhausting it was.
This would have been manageable, but two troublesome matters in the Third Branch remained unresolved.
Li Rui still hadn’t returned. Shen Jing had placed second in the palace examination and was now working at the Hanlin Academy, waiting for his probation period to end before being assigned to an external post. After he passed the imperial examination, Li’s family came to the Shen household several times, trying to persuade Shen Jing to say a few kind words to Li Rui so that the couple could live harmoniously.
But Shen Jing, for some unknown reason, had become stubborn and refused to back down. Later, annoyed by Ji Lan’s nagging, he simply chose to stay outside and not return home.
This would have been fine on ordinary days, letting the couple sulk, but now it was Shen Zheng’s big day, and relatives had gathered. When asked about the Fourth Young Madam, it was embarrassing to explain, as it was a shameful matter.
Li Rui was well aware of this and was determined not to return to the Shen family unless Shen Jing humbled himself.
As the day drew nearer and there was still no movement from Li Rui’s side, the Shen family had sent people to fetch her. Although Shen Jing didn’t go himself, they had given face to Li Rui. However, Li Rui still put on airs, claiming she was unwell.
Even the usually good-tempered Old Madam was angered. Everyone could see that Li Rui was using Shen Zheng’s wedding to manipulate Shen Jing.
The Old Madam said, “Since Ah Jing’s wife is unwell, we dare not trouble her with family matters.” She turned to Ji Lan and continued, “I’m considering finding a noble concubine for Ah Jing, someone who can be considerate of her husband. See if you can find any suitable candidates. Li Rui has been gone for months, and Ah Jing’s household can’t be left without someone to take care of it.”
Ji Lan was also frustrated, but taking a concubine wouldn’t solve the problem. Now that Shen Jing had entered officialdom, future interactions with relatives would require a mistress to manage social affairs. No matter how noble a concubine might be, she was still a concubine and wouldn’t be respected by relatives. They would still need Li Rui to host. “Mother, this…”
For all of Ji Lan’s cleverness, she could be quite obtuse at times. Madam Huang, watching from the side, couldn’t help but interject, “Mother is right, Ah Jing’s household needs someone to take care of it. However, we should discuss this matter with the in-laws, after all, marriage is not meant to create enemies.”
The Old Madam nodded.
Ji Lan finally realized that the Old Madam didn’t intend to find a concubine for Shen Jing, but was merely trying to pressure Li Rui.
The Old Madam said, “Second Daughter-in-law, I’ll trouble you and Third Daughter-in-law to pay a visit to Princess Zhenping this time.” The Old Madam didn’t trust Ji Lan to handle this matter alone.
After Madam Huang and Ji Lan left, the Old Madam turned to ask Ji Cheng and Cui Long, “Do you think your Fourth Sister-in-law will return this time?”
Cui Long was close to Li Rui and understood her temperament well. She was truly a pampered young lady, and it was unlikely that she would swallow her pride and come down from her high horse so easily.
Cui Long remained silent, so the Old Madam looked to Ji Cheng. Ji Cheng said, “With the Third Brother’s big day approaching, the Fourth Sister-in-law will surely return.”
If it weren’t for Shen Zheng’s impending wedding, Madam Huang probably wouldn’t have spoken up earlier.
The Old Madam smiled at Ji Cheng and said, “Oh? She suddenly understands now?”
Ji Cheng knew the Old Madam was testing her, so she smiled and replied, “Even if the Fourth Sister-in-law doesn’t understand, surely her family elders do?”
The Old Madam nodded. Ji Cheng’s words were indeed reasonable. In the capital, there were two old ladies known for their fierce protection of their own: one was the Shen family’s Old Madam, and the other was Princess Zhenping. It was Princess Zhenping’s backing that made Li Rui so bold.
However, in the past few months, Princess Zhenping’s health had been poor, and from what the Li family’s messengers had said, she could barely get out of bed now. But even if Princess Zhenping were in good health, the Loyal and Martial Marquis Li’s family was far inferior to the Shen family. With Princess Zhenping bedridden and unable to protect Li Rui, other elders might not be willing to watch Li Rui ruin herself.
Ji Cheng’s prediction was correct. On the second day after Madam Huang and Ji Lan returned, Li Rui came back to the Shen family with her tail between her legs.
Ji Cheng thought that Madam Huang had been quite clever. If they had brought Li Rui back yesterday, it would have meant the Shen family had lowered their heads. She didn’t know what Madam Huang had said yesterday, but she hadn’t allowed Li Rui to return with them. Today, with Li Rui returning on her own, her arrogance had completely dissipated.
However, although Li Rui had humbled herself, Shen Jing didn’t return to their room, choosing to sleep in the study instead.
It wasn’t that Ji Cheng was fond of gossip, but the affairs of the Third Branch were never kept secret. Whatever happened one day would inevitably become the next day’s gossip among the maids and old women, serving as after-dinner entertainment.
This was the nature of having many people around – even with strict management, it was harder to prevent people from talking than to stop a flood.
Regardless, Li Rui’s situation had been settled, but now trouble had arisen with Shen Cui. It turned out that Qi Zheng’s eldest son by a concubine had drowned in a pond.
This had thrown the Qi family into chaos. Qi Zheng’s concubine insisted that Shen Cui had caused her son’s death. Madam Qi had fainted several times from anger, and Qi Zheng was threatening to divorce his wife.
Shen Cui had returned to the Shen family in disgrace.
All these issues were erupting just as Shen Zheng’s wedding approached, with everyone taking advantage of the fact that the Shen family would surely want to settle matters quietly to save face.