Ji Cheng nodded and bowed slightly, saying softly, “Thank you for your effort, my lord.”
Taotao’s eyes were about to pop out. She reached out to tug at Shen Che’s sleeve, saying, “You should drum for me in the future too.”
Shen Che raised his hand, causing Taotao to miss grabbing his sleeve. She could only watch helplessly as he walked over to sit with the musicians.
As the drumbeats began, Ji Cheng’s wrist moved slightly, and Light Snow flashed with a cold gleam. She danced extremely fast as if it came naturally to her. The cold gleam transformed into snow, resembling flowers flying across the sky.
A poem describes: “Swift as Yi shooting down nine suns, Graceful as the emperors’ dragon chariots soaring. Arriving like thunder quelling its fury, Ceasing like the clear light of rivers and seas congealing.”
Ji Cheng’s sword dance became a band of light. As the drumbeats grew faster and more intense, Ji Cheng’s sword followed the rhythm. She thought to herself, “Does Shen Che have some past-life grudge against me? Why is he drumming so urgently? Is he trying to make me lose face by not keeping up?” She had initially thought he was there to help, but now it seemed he was just causing trouble.
The band of light could no longer keep up with the drumbeats. Ji Cheng’s body spun twelve consecutive times, forcefully turning the light band into a snow-white silk chain. The sword’s radiance danced like powder, resembling the Milky Way in the night sky.
If not for stubbornly holding her breath, unwilling to let this pair of scoundrels look down on her, Ji Cheng wouldn’t have been able to complete such a difficult maneuver under normal circumstances. She was practically tumbling in the air.
At the crescendo of the drumbeats, Light Snow let out a phoenix cry, deafening and soul-stirring, causing all who heard it to change expression.
However, dancing the sword quickly wasn’t the most challenging part; dancing it slowly was what truly tested one’s skill. The drumbeats transitioned from fast to slow, gradually becoming as gentle as a babbling brook.
Ji Cheng gritted her teeth and shook her wrist, almost too sore to hold the sword hilt. But her competitive nature pushed her on. She persevered, and Light Snow, being a flexible sword, created three overlapping waves in the air, like a spring breeze caressing water, creating ripples.
The sword’s body gleamed like a mirror, reflecting Ji Cheng’s cherry blossom pink dress, casting a light pink hue throughout the hall.
Where the sword light passed, it shattered the misty pink into cherry blossoms teetering on branches. The pink petals fell like snow, creating an illusion of her dress fluttering amidst falling cherry blossoms as she danced, despite there being neither cherry trees nor snow.
The scene was so breathtaking that people held their breath, fearing that their warm exhalations might melt the cherry blossom snow, which would truly spoil the mood.
As the sword reached its slowest point, Ji Cheng twisted her wrist, and Light Snow let out another phoenix cry. In a daze, the sword tip suddenly thrust towards Princess Taotao of Nanzhao.
The princess let out a startled cry, and the onlookers gasped, covering their mouths. The sword barely grazed Princess Taotao’s cheek.
Light Snow could cut a hair with a mere breath. In an instant, it had hooked the princess’s red coral earring onto its tip. Ji Cheng retracted the sword, and the coral earring drew a red arc of light in the air.
The drumbeats suddenly ceased, and Ji Cheng struck her final pose. The earring didn’t fall from the sword tip; she held it out, presenting it back to Princess Taotao.
The hall fell silent. After a moment, someone began to applaud, and soon the applause swelled. Even the musicians who had been watching put down their instruments to clap for Ji Cheng.
Although it was a home-field advantage, Ji Cheng’s victory was undeniably beautiful.
Taotao, pale-faced, retrieved her earring from Ji Cheng’s sword tip.
Ji Cheng sheathed her sword and smiled, saying, “I hope the magnanimous princess will forgive my abruptness.”
Taotao bit her lip and remained silent. The outcome was clear, but she was truly unwilling to accept it. She had come to show off and provoke, but instead had received an unexpected, resounding slap to the face.
Taotao looked at Shen Che with tears in her eyes, but her beloved’s lips held only mockery.
Steeling herself, Taotao said, “You’ve won. As a princess, I originally intended to marry Lord Shen and treat you as a secondary wife. Now that I’ve lost, let’s be like Ehuang and Nüying, both accompanying Lord Shen.”
Ji Cheng blinked, finding the situation both amusing and exasperating. Was she trying to break their agreement in front of everyone?
Ji Cheng took a step back and looked at Shen Che, saying, “I defer to my husband and dare not make decisions for him.”
Shen Che had already put down his drumsticks and spoke slowly, “How dare a mere mortal like me compare myself to Emperor Shun? I wouldn’t dare to slight the princess.”
Taotao cried, “I don’t mind being slighted!”
The Old Madam coughed lightly, seemingly signaling to Shen Che.
Shen Che glanced at the Old Madam with a smile, then turned back to Taotao and said, “This Shen will only take one wife in this lifetime. If the princess wishes to enter our household, she must write her contract of servitude and kowtow three times to my wife.”
For ordinary people, this request wouldn’t be considered harsh, as concubines were naturally of lower status. But for the proud Princess of Nanzhao, it was more difficult than ascending to heaven.
Sure enough, Taotao’s almond-shaped eyes widened in anger, about to lash out. However, as soon as she saw Shen Che’s face, she swallowed her rage. She had pursued him for so long, yet he remained unmoved. Only during their first meeting, when she introduced herself as Taotao, did he speak a few more words to her and ask about the origin of her nickname. After that, he never showed her a kind face again.
If not for this, Taotao wouldn’t have been so desperate as to create this situation, hoping to force Shen Che’s hand through the Great Qin Emperor. She knew the people of Great Qin valued face above all, which is why she came to visit, wanting to show the Old Madam that she was far more suitable for Shen Che than that merchant’s daughter.
But things didn’t go as planned. Princess Taotao’s tears fell like rain. After a moment of internal struggle, she knelt before Ji Cheng with a loud thud.
Ji Cheng dodged to the side in shock, looking helplessly at the equally surprised Shen Che.
This Princess Taotao had truly fallen in love, disregarding even her dignity.
Ji Cheng felt great pity for her. How could Shen Che be considered a good man?
The Old Madam finally spoke up, “Nonsense. How could a princess write her contract of servitude?”
The old woman was cunning, instantly enlightening the two surprised intelligent individuals.
Shen Che said to Taotao, “Don’t kneel yet.” Then he turned to instruct Yun Jin, “Go prepare brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.”
Taotao hesitated with the brush in hand. Shen Che said beside her, “Can you not write Chinese characters? Then I’ll have someone write a letter, and you can press your handprint. Have someone take it back to Nanzhao for your father, the king, to seal with his imperial seal.”
Taotao threw down the brush and ran away crying. But at least this scandalous affair, which had been the talk of the town, was finally resolved.
The Old Madam reprimanded Shen Che, “You! In the future, don’t disregard a young lady’s dignity like that again.”
Shen Che smiled and repeatedly agreed.
This Mid-Autumn family banquet was truly unique. Even after a decade or more, everyone would still remember everything that happened tonight.
The events at the Shen residence quickly spread throughout the capital. The Nanzhao princess could no longer show her face in the city, and no royal clan member was willing to marry her. The King of Nanzhao had no choice but to order her return. Later, he sent Taotao’s fourteen-year-old younger sister to the capital to marry a royal clan member, but that’s a story for another time.
As for the Mid-Autumn family banquet, it should have been an opportunity for Ji Cheng and Shen Che to reconcile. Their sword dance and drumming had been perfectly in sync. Ji Cheng had to admit that without Shen Che’s challenging drumbeats, she wouldn’t have performed so well.
Even she didn’t know she could take her sword dance to such a level, showing quite the air of a sword master. However, lacking internal energy, she couldn’t be considered a martial arts expert. She had seen Shen Che perform sword dances before when he demonstrated for her. With just a slight movement of his wrist, his sword radiance shone like the Milky Way. Ji Cheng, on the other hand, had to rely on her body’s movements to drive Light Snow’s blade, barely managing to simulate a similar effect.
But in Ji Cheng’s emotionally driven mind, she only felt a myriad of grievances. She resented Shen Che for attracting flowers and butterflies, even causing the Nanzhao princess to come and humiliate her. If she hadn’t happened to know sword dancing, after tonight, she might have been the one criticized and looked down upon, while that Nanzhao princess would have become even more arrogant.
Today it was the Nanzhao princess; tomorrow, who knew if some Western Capital princess might appear? Ji Cheng could handle this one, but could she handle the next?
Shen Che and Ji Cheng returned to Woyun Hall side by side. Ji Cheng kept her head down, and neither of them spoke a word. But this was the first time in months that Shen Che had entered Woyun Hall since their falling out.
Even Liu Ye’er knew that the young master had softened his stance, and she kept giving Ji Cheng meaningful looks.
Ji Cheng pretended not to see. When she looked up, she saw Shen Che staring at her unblinkingly. Neither of them was willing to speak first.
This cold war between them had started because of Ji Cheng; she had been the first to betray. During that time, Ji Cheng was full of regret. If Shen Che had asked her to kneel and beg for forgiveness then, she might have yielded like Princess Taotao did today.
But the human heart is a selfish thing. They had already missed the best opportunity to reconcile.
Shen Che had waited for months until his heart grew cold. Perhaps it wasn’t just these few months, but since those days on the grasslands when he waited for Ji Cheng to appear in the Northern Expedition Army’s camp, his heart had already frozen completely.
Shen Che didn’t care that Ji Cheng had saved Ling Ziyun. If Ji Cheng could have watched Ling Ziyun die before her eyes, Shen Che would have had to reevaluate her entire character.
Shen Che had just been waiting for Ji Cheng to say something to him.
But at that time, Ji Cheng made the worst decision.
The human heart is both resilient and fragile. When resilient, it can wait eighteen years on a single warm word or belief. When fragile, a mere turn of the back can shatter it like a crystal.
For Ji Cheng, the longer this dragged on, the harder it became for her to apologize. Any confession now would seem like an untimely afterthought.
In her heart, she longed for Shen Che to give her even a gentle look, which would encourage her to express all the feelings in her heart.
But Ji Cheng had also waited for a long time, even until she lay sick in bed, feeling almost at death’s door, without seeing Shen Che’s figure. She thought that Shen Che’s heart must have been thoroughly broken and that some words, whether spoken or not, no longer held any meaning.
You see, the debtor ends up blaming the creditor, resenting him for allowing the debt to be incurred in the first place.
In this world, cases of gratitude turning into enmity are all too common.
Both of their hearts had grown cold. They could no longer think positively when facing issues, each harboring resentment for the other’s perceived heartlessness.
Originally, these two could have been an enviable celestial couple, but due to their respective personalities and various obstacles, they drifted further and further apart. By the time they wanted to turn back, an insurmountable chasm had formed between them.
In the end, Shen Che didn’t stay in Woyun Hall. Liu Ye’er looked at Ji Cheng with frustration, “My lady, I saw that the young master intended to stay just now. If you had said just one word, he wouldn’t have left. What a great opportunity, why didn’t you seize it?”
Ji Cheng remained silent.
Liu Ye’er said, “My lady, I know you’re still angry, upset that the young master has neglected you for so long, and angry that he attracts other women. But you’re also in the wrong. What man can tolerate his wife treating him so coldly? The young master already shows a willingness to reconcile. If you continue to act like this, my lady, the young master’s heart will eventually turn to iron.”
Liu Ye’er was indeed a perceptive person, but she was also an outsider.
When Ji Cheng was an outsider, she was even calmer and more rational than Liu Ye’er. She could offer one piece of advice after another, even better at comforting people’s hearts than Liu Ye’er. But when she became the person involved, everything fell apart.