Shen Cui certainly didn’t possess enough charm to make Ji Cheng willingly expend so much effort on her behalf. Shen Che thought briefly and guessed Ji Cheng’s intentions. His Third Aunt prided herself on her cleverness, but in reality, she had already placed her weakness in the hands of this little niece.
Regardless of whether Ji Lan and Shen Cui were likable or not, they were still members of the Shen family. Since Shen Che was now aware of Ji Cheng’s calculations, he naturally couldn’t pretend not to see.
Shen Che wouldn’t want to harm an innocent girl like Su Yun, but dealing with Cousin Cheng would be like carrying out heaven’s will. So when Shen Che saw Ji Cheng wiping tears on the Duiyun Jicui Bridge, he didn’t avoid her, curious to see what Cousin Cheng was planning next.
Instead of answering Ji Cheng’s question, Shen Che asked, “Does Cousin have anyone in mind who might be suspicious?”
Ji Cheng looked up into Shen Che’s eyes, calculating how to respond, but was momentarily dazed by his gaze.
This man’s eyes were truly beautiful. For a man, his eyelashes were even longer than a girl’s. The mere act of blinking could make one’s heart flutter.
As for those eyes, Ji Cheng only knew they were beautiful, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why. It seemed every aspect was perfect. When he looked at you, it was as if you were the only one in his eyes, making it impossible not to fantasize.
“Cousin,” Shen Che called again.
Ji Cheng finally snapped back to reality, embarrassed. Truly, male beauty was misleading. To cover up her embarrassment at being captivated by male beauty, Ji Cheng blurted out without thinking, “I’ve been in the capital for three months, and the only people I’ve offended are the Wang sisters.”
Shen Che raised an eyebrow in understanding. Ji Cheng must have guessed Ji Lan’s thoughts and was trying to extract information from him indirectly. She certainly had confidence in her looks.
With the Shen family’s capabilities, they had been investigating the matter while searching for Shen Cui and Ji Cheng the previous night. By the early hours, they had apprehended the “Pockmarked Man” and clarified everything. He had been instructed by Chen Bin, who was Wang Yueniang’s cousin, a young master from the Earl of An’ping’s family.
The Old Madam was most fond of the younger generation and immediately expressed her intention to confront the Wang family. However, Ji Lan tearfully stopped her, saying she feared it would ruin Shen Cui and Ji Cheng’s reputations.
“Both girls were rescued promptly and are pure and innocent. How could their reputations be ruined? If anyone dares to gossip, this old woman will tear their mouths,” the Old Madam said angrily.
But Ji Lan insisted on resolving the matter privately, fearing it would affect future marriage prospects. This was essentially sweeping the matter under the rug, and the Old Madam was utterly disappointed in Ji Lan.
Shen Che, who was present at the time, saw through the situation more clearly than the Old Madam. His aunt was still unwilling to give up on the Wang family, neglecting her family members in favor of currying favor with the Wangs. Wasn’t this just an attempt to follow Consort Wang’s path?
Ji Lan was indeed ambitious. She wanted her husband and son to be successful, more so than the first and second branches of the family. This was to prove that despite being from a merchant family, she was stronger than anyone else. That’s why she refused to seek help from the Old Madam or the Princess.
Now that Consort Wang was in power, Ji Lan, while not actively currying favor, didn’t want to make enemies with the Wang family. Even after today’s incident, though she hated Wang Yueniang to death in her heart, she still clung to the delusion of how things would be once her husband was promoted.
This morning, Ji Cheng had misunderstood Ji Lan, thinking the Shen family was unwilling to stand up for Shen Cui. She never imagined it would be Ji Lan who was unwilling, as Shen Cui was, after all, her daughter. So Ji Cheng had no intention of following Shen Che’s path or asking the Shen family to stand up for her.
Shen Che said, “Cousin, don’t worry. Now that we have a suspect, it will be easier to investigate. The elders in the family will naturally seek justice for you both.”
Hearing this, Ji Cheng naturally felt Shen Che was merely placating her. She lightly tugged at the corner of her lips and nodded. Suddenly, she heard Shen Che ask, “Cousin, your dancing is so good. Why didn’t you participate in the Zhongtan Artistic Selection at the time?”
Shen Che seemed to ask casually, but to Ji Cheng’s ears, it was like a thunderbolt. Did this man know something? Ji Cheng hoped she was overthinking.
“Does Cousin Che think I dance well?” Ji Cheng asked, seemingly interested.
The memory of last night was still fresh and vivid. The five-colored thread called the “line of affection” appeared in Shen Che’s mind, along with that not-so-large but very perky and full bottom. If he hadn’t lost his senses at that moment, Ji Cheng’s “line of affection” wouldn’t have touched Shen Che’s body.
Yuqian’er, who had been making grass baskets with the little maids in the garden, occasionally stood on tiptoe to look in Ji Cheng’s direction. When she suddenly saw a man appear on the Duiyun Jicui Bridge, Yuqian’er was startled and quickly picked up her skirts to run.
Seeing Yuqian’er running from not far away, Shen Che didn’t answer Ji Cheng’s question. Instead, he nodded to her, “I have matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”
Shortly after Shen Che left, Yuqian’er arrived breathlessly at Ji Cheng’s side. “Miss, was that the Second Young Master talking to you on the bridge just now?”
Ji Cheng gave Yuqian’er a reproachful look and didn’t answer her question. “Where did you run off to? Leaving me alone here.”
Hearing Ji Cheng’s tone was off, Yuqian’er quickly said, “This servant won’t dare to do it again.”
She apologized quickly, leaving Ji Cheng with nowhere to vent her frustration. She could only let out a muffled “Mm.”
“Miss, we’ve found you!” Liuye’er came panting from the small path. “Second Madam is returning to her maiden home today. Third Miss and Fourth Miss are going to play. The Old Madam said to have the Second Madam take all the young ladies to visit relatives. Miss, quickly come back with me to change clothes.”
“Why the sudden visit to the Marquis of Jing’an’s mansion?” Yuqian’er muttered.
Ji Cheng understood the Old Madam’s intentions in an instant. She followed Liuye’er back to her room to change into a light, gauzy dress. Her appearance was clean and simple, with her exposed neck clean and free of any marks of abuse.
After last night’s incident, today’s visit to the Marquis of Jing’an’s mansion would naturally serve as evidence. In the future, even if someone gossiped about the Tianxiang Tower incident, the people from the Marquis of Jing’an’s mansion could speak up.
On the way, Ji Cheng shared a carriage with Shen Yuan. She leaned over and asked, “Sister Cheng, did you and Fifth Sister lose your maids yesterday because you were having fun?”
Only a few elders in the family knew about this incident, along with Shen Che who had rescued them. Even Shen Yuan and Shen Rong were kept in the dark.
But Shen Yuan was no fool. She knew there must be more to the story, and Ji Cheng wasn’t one to act without calculation. Unable to get answers from Second Madam, she could only try to find out from Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng couldn’t speak freely in the carriage, so she waited for an opportunity after they alighted to briefly tell Shen Yuan about last night’s events.
Shen Yuan was shocked upon hearing it. “Do we know who was behind this?”
Ji Cheng shook her head.
Shen Yuan quickly pieced things together in her mind and naturally suspected the Wang sisters. Who did these Wang sisters think they were? Could they cover the sky with one hand? But Shen Yuan couldn’t say this to Ji Cheng, as she wasn’t sure how the family elders would handle this matter. So she could only squeeze Ji Cheng’s palm reassuringly, feeling guilty towards her.
Ji Cheng truly regarded her as an elder sister, so when such an incident occurred and Shen Yuan asked, she told her without hesitation. Yet Shen Yuan, as the elder sister, couldn’t stand up for her. Thinking of this, Shen Yuan felt a wave of guilt.
Ji Cheng wasn’t a blabbermouth spreading this incident around. She understood that with Shen Yuan’s intelligence, she would find out sooner or later, so it was better to tell her herself.
“No wonder you’ve been gloomy all the way. Don’t worry, this matter will be investigated eventually. In the future, when you go out, bring more maids and servants with you,” Shen Yuan comforted Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng nodded. Her gloominess wasn’t for any other reason; she had suddenly lost her ambition and felt empty inside, not knowing what to do in the future.
After returning from the Marquis of Jing’an’s mansion, Ji Cheng went to pay her respects to Ji Lan before returning to the garden. As she approached the Zhaoixang Pavilion, she happened to encounter Shen Jing.
Shen Jing had been lingering near the Zhaoixang Pavilion for some time. Only when he saw Ji Cheng approaching with her maid did he pretend to casually come over.
“Sister Cheng.” When Shen Jing saw Ji Cheng, his eyes were full of concern. He had naturally heard about last night’s incident but didn’t know exactly what Ji Cheng and the others had experienced. Seeing a hint of melancholy and confusion in Ji Cheng’s brow that wasn’t usually there, his heart ached as if it were being wrung. “Sister Cheng, I’ve already spoken to Cui. It must have been her being mischievous and dragging you along. She won’t dare to do it again in the future. You shouldn’t always indulge her.”
Ji Cheng wanted to laugh hearing this. It seemed Shen Jing was completely unaware of the situation. But the fact that he took her side without asking for reasons touched Ji Cheng to some extent. However, touched as she was, Ji Cheng’s heart began to beat faster, thinking she should keep some distance from this cousin.
Shen Jing’s feelings, which he thought were well-hidden, were like an open book before Ji Cheng.
“Thank you, Cousin. It wasn’t Fifth Sister’s fault. I was also to blame for being playful,” Ji Cheng said, lowering her head.
Shen Jing said a few more words, anxious to talk more with Ji Cheng and look at her a bit longer. So he continued, “Sister Cheng, I like the chestnut horse you gave me last time. Thank you so much.”
In the end, Ji Yuan naturally chose the little gray horse that Ji Cheng had ridden, and the beautiful chestnut horse was given to Shen Jing. The chestnut horse was indeed priceless, and Shen Jing naturally liked it. He felt that Ji Cheng must have been thinking of him, and felt a surge of affection. To be honest, they didn’t have much interaction, but Shen Jing’s imagination ran wild, creating a lot of sentiment.
Ji Cheng could hardly bear to look at Shen Jing’s affectionate eyes. She lowered her head even more. “That was bought by my elder brother. If Cousin wants to thank someone, thank my elder brother.” Fearing that staying too long with Shen Jing might lead to gossip, Ji Cheng quickly took her leave.
Shen Jing stared blankly in the direction Ji Cheng had left, feeling that she seemed to have become thinner and lighter, like a celestial maiden from the Osmanthus Palace about to float away in the wind, impossible to grasp.