Ji Cheng didn’t take it to heart. Recently, she has been busy recuperating and has also finalized the marriage arrangements for Yu Qian’er and Liu Ye’er. The two would be married in succession after spring arrived.
In the end, Ji Cheng chose a manager from her dowry shop for Liu Ye’er. While he couldn’t be described as honest and kind, he was quick-witted and handled matters skillfully. With Ji Cheng watching over them, Liu Ye’er’s life would only get better.
Additionally, Ji Cheng’s daily routine now included practicing the Five Aggregates Mystic Moon Technique under Shen Che’s guidance. Due to her foundation in breathing exercises, she progressed smoothly at first, prompting Shen Che to praise her talent. He claimed that if she had started practicing from childhood, she would likely be a top martial artist by now.
Ji Cheng ignored Shen Che’s exaggerations, knowing full well that there would be challenges ahead, even if she didn’t know exactly where they lay.
The golden and silver fish indeed had miraculous effects, and the Mystic Moon Technique might have contributed a little as well. Over the past two months, Ji Cheng had visibly gained weight. While her delicate charm had diminished slightly, her features had become more radiant. There was a gorgeous, misty glow about her, as clear as plum blossoms reflected in snow. She was even more beautiful than before.
Her skin had a watery sheen as if a squeeze would release peach blossom juice. It was so flawless that even upon close inspection, not a single blemish could be found. This made Ji Cheng appear much younger, around seventeen or eighteen years old.
One day, just as Ji Cheng was getting up, Shen Che came down from the top floor after practicing. As soon as he entered, he embraced Ji Cheng from behind while she was refreshing herself with mint water. “You’ve gained weight. I like it,” he said.
Ji Cheng swiftly swatted away Shen Che’s wolfish paw from her chest. Lately, his behavior had become increasingly brazen. The way he looked at her made Ji Cheng feel like a rabbit trapped under a wolf’s claws.
Shen Che tried to act shamelessly again, but Liu Ye’er and Ji Cheng’s newly chosen maid, Gui Yuan’er, were serving nearby. Although they had retreated to the side room when Shen Che entered, he couldn’t linger too long. Moreover, Ji Cheng was shy in front of others, so Shen Che could only grudgingly give her a firm squeeze to relieve his desires.
After Ji Cheng finished combing her hair, Shen Che picked up the eyebrow pencil to draw her brows. “What eyebrow shape do you want today? Yesterday was thick brows, so let’s do willow leaf brows today.”
Shen Che had already answered his question, leaving Ji Cheng no room for input. She silently thought, “Do as you please.”
In truth, Ji Cheng’s natural eyebrow shape was excellent, requiring no enhancement. However, Shen Che insisted on emulating the loving act of Zhang Chang drawing his wife’s eyebrows, so he fussed over her brows daily.
This wasn’t all. Ji Cheng no longer had control over her head accessories. Shen Che chose all her hairpins and ornaments. When he was bored during his convalescence, he carved jade hairpins for her, mainly in various camellia designs. Only after Ji Cheng’s strong protests did he add peonies, treasure flower shapes, and gardenia designs.
Occasionally, when Ji Cheng tactfully expressed her desire to wear some gold and silver jewelry, Shen Che would disdainfully remark, “Others don’t wear jade because they lack such high-quality jade or my carving skills. They resort to gold and silver as a second choice.” Shen Che stopped just short of explicitly calling those who wore gold nouveau riche.
Fine, Ji Cheng could tolerate this, but she couldn’t agree with Shen Che’s taste in choosing her clothes. They were all shades of beige: light beige, cherry blossom beige, peach beige, coral beige, rouge beige – every conceivable shade of beige. Fortunately, Ji Cheng’s youthful complexion complemented these colors well.
Sometimes Ji Cheng couldn’t help but think that if Shen Che still made her wear beige when she was in her thirties or forties, she might once again feel the urge to kill him.
After dolling Ji Cheng up beautifully, Shen Che escorted her to Rui Ying Hall.
Seeing the old madam dressed in outdoor attire, Ji Cheng asked, “Great-grandmother, are you going out?”
“A letter arrived last night. Now that Princess Zhenping has passed away, the Zhongwu Marquis’s household is going to be divided. Since our two families are considered relatives, they’ve invited me to be a witness,” the old madam explained.
“Why so sudden?” Ji Cheng inquired. Princess Zhenping had just been buried, yet the Li family was already eager to divide the household. There must be some intrigue behind this.
Ji Cheng’s guess wasn’t far off. Just as the government offices were about to be sealed, Li Rui’s father, Li Mao, the Lang Zhong of the Ministry of Works, had become entangled in a corruption case involving the funds for rebuilding the Changle Palace.
The Changle Palace had burned down in the first month of the previous year. Emperor Jianping had ordered the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds for its reconstruction. At that time, the Northern Expedition Army was at war with the Western Turks, leaving the Ministry’s coffers empty. It wasn’t until May that they scraped together enough silver. Now, in the twelfth month of the following year, the Changle Palace still wasn’t rebuilt. Enraged, Emperor Jianping pressed for the completion of the project, which led to this corruption case.
The Court of Judicial Review had imprisoned Li Mao just before the New Year and then sealed the offices. As a result, Li Mao would have to spend the New Year in jail, which naturally alarmed the Li family, or more precisely, the second branch of the Li family.
Although Li Rui had been released from the family temple, she returned just in time for her father’s imprisonment. Her uncle claimed that Li Mao had offended someone he shouldn’t have, and they couldn’t help. Li Rui had no choice but to seek Shen Jing’s help. Due to her close friendship with Cui Long, she even went to the Chang Heng Court to plead with Shen Yu.
However, although Shen Jing and Shen Yu verbally agreed to help, there was no sign of any real action.
Li Rui spent her days in tears. She even took Yu Jie’er to beg Shen Jing for help. Despite his hatred for her, Shen Jing was kind-hearted and couldn’t help but visit the Nine Li Courtyard to seek Shen Che’s assistance. He knew that for such matters, his seemingly idle but well-connected second brother was the right person to ask.
At this moment, the Nine Li Courtyard was brightly lit. Under the lamplight, Shen Che was painting Ji Cheng’s toenails with safflower dye. Ji Cheng had never been fond of such things, and Shen Che liked her fingers clean and unadorned. However, this man had peculiar tastes and insisted on dyeing her toenails.
Unable to resist Shen Che, and with her feet firmly in his grasp, Ji Cheng had no choice but to let him have his way.
Shen Che knew that Ji Cheng found his fussing annoying. As it was nearing the end of the year and he was overwhelmed with work, many boxes containing this year’s account books had been brought to the top floor. Shen Che handed the key to these boxes to Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng took the key, but before she could smile, Shen Che said, “You’re not allowed to look at the account books for more than half an hour each day. I’ve asked Liu Ye’er to keep an eye on you.”
Ji Cheng nodded. Then she saw Shen Che return her wooden box to her. It contained the seal of the Longchang firm. She had thought that after all this time, Shen Che would have kept it for himself. Unexpectedly, it was being returned to its rightful owner. Ji Cheng couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
Shen Che tapped Ji Cheng’s nose and said, “I’m giving it back to you because you’ve behaved so well for so long.”
Ji Cheng stubbornly replied, “I said I’d given it to you. You didn’t need to return it.”
Shen Che said, “Is that so?” He reached out to take the box from Ji Cheng’s hands. “Well then, I’ve never complained about having too much money.”
Ji Cheng held onto the box tightly, refusing to let go, clearly contradicting her words.
Shen Che snorted with laughter and didn’t argue further. He lowered his head and began applying safflower dye to her toenails, then carefully wrapped each of her toes with cotton cloth.
Just as they were about to admire her lotus feet, a moment that would stir their hearts, they heard Yu Qian’er come in to announce that Shen Jing had arrived.
Ji Cheng and Shen Che exchanged a glance, both knowing why Shen Jing had come. Ji Cheng thought to herself that Shen Jing had certainly chosen the right person to ask for help. After all, only Shen Che could be of use in this situation. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but smile.
Shen Che carried Ji Cheng into the bedroom, asking, “What are you smiling about? You look like a sly fox.”
Ji Cheng wrapped her arms around Shen Che’s neck and said, “You won’t soften your heart, will you?”
Shen Che pursed his lips and said, “If I soften my heart, wouldn’t it further misunderstand that I have improper thoughts about her?”
Ji Cheng burst out laughing. “Who told you to look at her? You deserve it!”
Shen Che placed Ji Cheng on the bed before going out to meet Shen Jing.
After Shen Jing explained his purpose for coming, Shen Che said, “Although our two families are related by marriage, the country has its laws, and families have their rules. Your father-in-law’s corruption and abuse of power cannot go unpunished. This time, the Emperor is furious, and no one dares to intercede.”
Shen Che’s demeanor appeared extremely serious, while Ji Cheng, who had quietly gotten out of bed to eavesdrop at the door, was nearly doubling over with laughter.
“But…” Shen Jing wanted to say more, but Shen Che interrupted him.
“Moreover, I think if something happens to your in-laws, your wife might be more settled,” Shen Che said bluntly.
Shen Jing lowered his head and said nothing more. He understood this reasoning all too well, but he had to at least try, to avoid feeling guilty.
Shen Che sighed and said, “If I have the chance to see Uncle Emperor during the New Year, I’ll privately plead for your father-in-law. He’s not the main culprit, so his life shouldn’t be in danger.”
“Thank you, Second Brother,” Shen Jing said. After discussing his father-in-law’s matter, Shen Jing hesitated before speaking again, “Second Brother, I…”
Shen Jing felt extremely guilty towards Shen Che because of Ji Cheng’s situation, but he didn’t know how to broach the subject.
Shen Che patted Shen Jing’s shoulder and said, “I’ve put all past events behind me. As for you, I fear Li Rui’s temperament will only bring you trouble. Your weakness is being too soft-hearted. Since you’re unwilling to divorce her, you should assert your authority as a husband. An unstable household could greatly harm your prospects.”
Shen Jing nodded and smiled at Shen Che, “Second Brother, thank you.”
Shen Che nodded and saw Shen Jing out. Upon returning, he went straight to the bed to catch Ji Cheng, pinning her down and asking, “What were you secretly laughing about earlier? Who do you think I was getting revenge for by doing this?”
Ji Cheng arched her back and planted a quick kiss on Shen Che’s cheek, then gazed at him lovingly.
Shen Che let out a groan and looked up at the Ninety-Nine Plum Blossom Chart hanging on the wall. Feeling frustrated, he hugged Ji Cheng and said, “I think I can’t hold back anymore.”
Ji Cheng giggled again, “It seems we’ve only passed half the days.”
Due to practicing the Mystic Moon Technique, Ji Cheng couldn’t engage in intimate relations for a hundred days. While others’ Ninety-Nine Plum Blossom Charts were used to count down the coldest days of winter, the chart at their bedhead was counting down the days until they could break the abstinence of the Mystic Moon Technique.
Shen Che angrily lowered his head to nibble on Ji Cheng’s neck, then stood up and said, “You sleep first. I’m going out to handle some matters.”
Ji Cheng sat up, asking, “So late?”
Shen Che replied, “If I stay, I definitely won’t be able to control myself. I told you not to tempt me, but you just keep causing trouble.”
Ji Cheng lay back down in bed, sticking her foot out and looking at her toes. “What about these?”
Shen Che had no choice but to sit back down and unwrap the cotton cloth from Ji Cheng’s toes. He called for Liu Ye’er to bring water so he could wash Ji Cheng’s feet.
Her feet were as white as freshly peeled peanuts, round and adorable, making one want to swallow them whole. The toenails dyed bright red with safflower, looked like plump, translucent pomegranate seeds. The stark contrast between red and white was mesmerizing.
Unconsciously, Shen Che’s hand moved up from Ji Cheng’s foot into her pant leg. Ji Cheng kicked him forcefully, saying, “Hurry and go. You have important matters to attend to, and I want to sleep.”
Shen Che gripped Ji Cheng’s calf, not letting go. He took two deep breaths, then stood up, leaned down, and bit Ji Cheng hard twice before reluctantly leaving.
As Ji Cheng’s health improved and the New Year approached, she couldn’t keep relying on the old madam to manage the household affairs. She took back control of the household management, and when Shen Che returned, he found her in the flower hall listening to the old women’s reports.
Under Shen Che’s disapproving gaze, Ji Cheng felt inexplicably guilty. She found it ridiculous – why should she feel guilty?
Shen Che said, “I told you not to worry so much. Can’t you wait until Liu Ye’er and the others return after their marriages to become your household managers before taking over?”
Ji Cheng retorted, “Are you willing to let Great-grandmother, at her advanced age, still handle the New Year preparations?”
Shen Che was stumped by Ji Cheng’s words. She continued, “Besides, even if Liu Ye’er and the others become household managers, there are some decisions they can’t make.”
Shen Che hugged Ji Cheng from behind and said, “How about I take a concubine? She’ll be in name only, managing the household affairs for you in the future. You can focus solely on taking care of me.”
What a beautiful dream! Ji Cheng gave Shen Che a coquettish glance. “If you want to take a concubine, I won’t object. Why bother with such excuses? Tell me, which family’s daughter have you set your eyes on?”
“You really won’t object?” Shen Che bit Ji Cheng’s earlobe and asked, “I was merely playing along outside, and someone was already crying her eyes out. Now you’re acting tough with me. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll really bring someone home, and then you’ll have your turn to cry.”
Ji Cheng replied, “That won’t happen. Didn’t you say that with my scheming and tactics, I could wear her down to tears within three months? So if you have such intentions, it might be safer to keep her outside.”
Shen Che laughed out loud, “You dare to say such things.”