Chapter 6 Apology “You knew well this gown was ruined by her own…”

Chapter 6: Apology "You know perfectly well that this wedding dress was destroyed by her own..."

Yue Rongrong ran back to Yunjin Yuan, shivering from the cold. She reached out and placed her icy hands directly on Zhen Xi's hand warmer. Zhen Xi shrieked, trying to push her hands away. "Your hands are freezing!"

"Let me warm up a bit," Yue Rongrong giggled, pressing her hands against it again. Zhen Xi quickly handed the warmer over to her.

Noticing Yue Rongrong's face was flushed red from the cold and her cloak was missing, Zhen Xi asked, "Where's your cloak?"

Wrapping herself in a blanket, Yue Rongrong curled up on Zhen Xi's bed. "I left it at Marquis Shen's residence."

Hearing this, Zhen Xi's expression subtly shifted. Ren Hanzhen, who had just reached the doorway, overheard and gently inquired, "On such a cold day, you should have remembered it before leaving. Why didn't you go back for it?"

Her words carried a hint of suspicion, as if implying Yue Rongrong had deliberately left it behind. Yet, she wore a smile. Yue Rongrong remained unruffled. "I was in a hurry and forgot. By the time I remembered, I had already left the residence and felt too embarrassed to go back."

Ren Hanzhen thoughtfully walked to her dressing table. She smiled at Yue Rongrong's reflection in the mirror. "What was so urgent?"

Yue Rongrong, unwilling to elaborate, casually replied, "Miss Jin wasn’t satisfied with the floral patterns and criticized a few things."

Ren Hanzhen turned and laughed. "Good thing I didn’t go. Such influential families are beyond my ability to serve. Miss Jin’s temper is not easy to deal with."

Yue Rongrong smiled but said nothing.

Zhen Xi leaned in, tugging at her blanket, and asked, "Did you see Marquis Shen today?"

Ren Hanzhen’s comb paused. She glanced into the mirror and noticed Yue Rongrong seemed distracted.

"Rong Rong?"

Yue Rongrong snapped back to attention. "No, I didn’t. He’s Marquis Shen—how could someone like me get to see him!"

Zhen Xi giggled. "That’s true. Hurry and get ready; it’s almost time for dinner."

Ren Hanzhen pressed her lips into a smile and walked over, joining them as they headed to the dining hall.

Du Yan shot Yue Rongrong a cold glance when she saw her arrive, pulling Ren Hanzhen to sit with her. Turning around and seeing Yue Rongrong laughing and chatting happily with Zhong Yu and the others, she snorted and spoke loudly.

"I heard Miss Jin’s mother was a close friend of the Grand Princess. She died saving the Grand Princess, so Miss Jin has lived in Duke Zhenguo's residence since childhood, known as the nominal cousin. The Grand Princess dotes on her immensely. She and Marquis Shen are childhood friends—they must be very close. Now that they’re engaged, they’re surely deeply in love."

As she spoke, she glanced repeatedly at Yue Rongrong. "I’m just afraid some delusional people might try to get close, only to fall before they can even reach the moon and end up dead!"

Yue Rongrong pretended not to hear and continued joking with Zhong Yu. Zhong Yu, however, looked at Du Yan and laughed. "Why does it seem like you’re afraid someone might get close?"

Du Yan’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

Suddenly, a strange voice chimed in: "But I heard..." then abruptly stopped.

Everyone was instantly intrigued by the unfinished sentence and turned to look at Fang Xiuniang, the source of the voice, urging her eagerly, "What did you hear?"

Seeing everyone’s curious gazes, Fang Xiuniang grew wary. She wasn’t sure if what she’d heard was true. If she spread rumors carelessly and they reached Duke Zhenguo’s residence... She shuddered and shook her head with an awkward smile. "It’s nothing."

But the others wouldn’t let it go. "You’ve been working for the Han family these past couple of days. The Hans also live near Wangjing Gate—you must have heard something. Out with it!"

Fang Xiuniang had no choice but to make an excuse. "The Han family’s second daughter-in-law is pregnant. All I hear while working on auspicious embroidery are things about the baby. Nothing about Marquis Shen."

Knowing she was tight-lipped, everyone lost interest. But Yue Rongrong was stunned. Ye Shuyi is pregnant...

After the meal, everyone went to the garden to walk off the food. Yue Rongrong couldn’t resist and pulled Fang Xiuniang aside, casually striking up a conversation. "Since the second daughter-in-law is pregnant, did you get a good reward?"

Fang Xiuniang chuckled. "You money-grubber. Yes, it was quite generous."

Yue Rongrong seized the opportunity to ask, "How is the second daughter-in-law’s health?"

Fang Xiuniang gave her a thoughtful look and smiled. "They just called an imperial physician yesterday for the diagnosis. She looks well, being pampered like gold and jade." She glanced at Yue Rongrong again, adjusting her cloak as if casually asking, "Rong Rong, do you know the second daughter-in-law?"

Yue Rongrong paused for a moment before breaking into a smile. "If I had such good fortune, would I still be here working as a seamstress?"

Fang Xiuniang laughed along with her, as if it were nothing more than a distant possibility.

A distant possibility? But she and Ye Shuyi had once played together, drank together, and gotten into trouble together.

Yue Rongrong cherished those days. Shen Jichen went to the military camp every day, and when Ye Shuyi visited, the two of them would spend all their time together, causing all sorts of trouble. Whenever they got into scrapes, Ye Shuyi would drop Shen Jichen’s name, and the other party would immediately become respectful and accept any punishment. They were utterly spoiled, utterly carefree, almost to the point of recklessness.

Back then, Yue Rongrong knew Shen Jichen was important but had no idea just how important. She was too immersed in the honeymoon phase to wonder why officials in Hangzhou all feared him. By the time she understood, the honey jar had already shattered.

A sharp needle pricked Yue Rongrong’s fingertip. The pain jolted her back to the present, and she hurriedly covered the bleeding finger to prevent the blood from staining the priceless red brocade. She gently patted it.

"Cherishing it so much, anyone who didn’t know better would think Miss Yue is embroidering her own wedding dress," a sharp, cold voice remarked. Yue Rongrong looked up and saw Jin Tangsong approaching slowly.

Yue Rongrong sighed softly and stood up to bow.

Jin Tangsong sneered. "Am I seeing things? Since when has Miss Yue been so proper? Weren’t you so proud before?" Mentioning the past, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

Yue Rongrong didn’t want to argue, but her silence only irritated Jin Tangsong further. "Who do you think you are, putting on airs here? Do you still think you’re the Yue Rongrong from before?"

With that, she strode forward swiftly. With a tearing sound, the shears in her hand pierced through the brocade and ripped it downward, splitting it in two.

Shocked and furious, Yue Rongrong exclaimed, "What are you doing!" She rushed forward, but Jin Tangsong suddenly collapsed to the side, falling to the ground with a thud.

Caught off guard, Yue Rongrong didn’t even have time to mourn the destruction of her hard work before she heard Jin Tangsong’s voice choked with tears calling toward the doorway, "Cousin..."

Yue Rongrong froze, then turned around. She saw Jin Tangsong sitting on the ground, tears welling in her eyes as she looked toward the door. Following her gaze, Yue Rongrong met Shen Jichen’s icy, dark eyes. Her heart clenched violently.

Shen Jichen walked past her without so much as a glance and helped Jin Tangsong up, his voice low as he asked, "Are you hurt?"

Jin Tangsong sobbed twice. "It really hurts."

"Wen Song, send for a physician and escort Miss Jin back," Shen Jichen said coldly.

Wen Song, snapping out of his shock, stepped forward immediately. But Jin Tangsong pushed him away and clung to Shen Jichen’s arm, pleading pitifully, "Cousin, Yue Rongrong pushed me. I want her to apologize!"

Wen Song stared wide-eyed at Yue Rongrong in disbelief.

Shen Jichen’s expression darkened slightly. He didn’t agree immediately but instead looked at Yue Rongrong. She pressed her lips together, standing straight-backed, staring directly at him with anger and pride.

He knew her temperament.

"Cousin..." Jin Tangsong shook his arm gently, begging, "I want her to apologize."

Shen Jichen’s cold gaze fixed on Yue Rongrong. "Did you hear her?"

Yue Rongrong’s ears buzzed, her pupils contracting abruptly. She saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes and noticed Jin Tangsong lifting her chin triumphantly, just as she had when she’d won before. Back then, Shen Jichen had sided with Jin Tangsong, and today was no different.

Shen Jichen frowned. "Are you in pain?" He curled his lips mockingly. "It’s just an apology. How much can it hurt?"

Yue Rongrong met the hatred in his eyes and felt a sudden jolt of fear. She hated him, and he hated her. Suddenly, she smiled, her eyes growing brighter. Shen Jichen’s gaze only darkened further as he watched her turn to Jin Tangsong. Her lips parted, and she said, "Sorry."

It was light, utterly indifferent. Shen Jichen’s heart felt as if it had been seized, rage surging within him.

Jin Tangsong laughed and continued, "Cousin, I don't like this wedding dress. Everyone has dragons and phoenixes symbolizing marital harmony, but I want something different."

Shen Jichen asked patiently, "Then what kind do you like?"

Jin Tangsong smiled and said, "I want peacock motifs. Embroider a peacock on the back, and use real peacock feathers for the train that trails on the ground. Peacocks also symbolize good fortune and marital harmony."

Yue Rongrong avoided looking at Shen Jichen's expression, but his deep, mellow voice, tinged with laughter, cut sharply through to her ears.

"As you wish."

His light, dismissive words erased all the hard work Yue Rongrong had put in over the past two days.

Jin Tangsong, however, was delighted and added, "Cousin, although Yue Rongrong apologized, I still want you to punish her!"

Yue Rongrong finally turned around. Shen Jichen was also looking at her but asked Jin Tangsong, "How do you want her punished?"

Jin Tangsong thought for a moment and said with apparent innocence, "She ruined such precious cloud brocade, so don’t give her any reward! Make her work on this wedding dress without pay."

Shen Jichen noticed the tension and fear finally appearing in Yue Rongrong's eyes. His brow furrowed. Compared to his indulgence toward Jin Tangsong, compared to making her apologize, she actually cared more about that bit of money! Even her gaze toward him was no longer defiant but instead panicked and uneasy.

After a long pause, he still said, "Fine."

Back then, Shen Jichen and she had had a bitter breakup, almost as if they would never interact again. Yue Rongrong thought they would never see each other again in this lifetime. This reunion, though emotionally turbulent for her, found her as a proud young woman. So every time they met, she forced herself to maintain an indifferent attitude, wanting to appear graceful and magnanimous, to let him think she had let go of the past and was no longer dwelling on the past.

She just didn’t want to seem too pitiful.

But this time, she could no longer hold back. Her eyes welled up as she stared intently at Shen Jichen: "You know very well that she was the one who ruined the wedding dress!"

The more she cared, the colder Shen Jichen's face became. "So what?"

He was blatantly protecting Jin Tangsong, favoring her! So openly, showing no regard for the injustice she suffered. But what was she to him? Why should he care? She bit her lower lip until a row of white tooth marks appeared and said stiffly, "Then I resign."

A flash of surprise passed through Shen Jichen's eyes, followed by iciness. He took a step closer. "What did you say?"

Yue Rongrong turned her head and looked directly at Shen Jichen. "I resign. Please find someone else, Marquis."

Shen Jichen's voice was icy and deep. "Because I wronged you and protected Tangsong?" As if asking for an answer.

Yue Rongrong said in the calmest voice, "Because you’re not paying me."

Not only Jin Tangsong, but even Shen Jichen was stunned, as if he had heard something absurd! When he came to his senses, his anger surged abruptly. Because he restrained himself, his face grew increasingly gloomy. "Not because I wronged you! Not because I protected Tangsong! Just because of money!"

Yue Rongrong declared firmly, "Yes!" She needed money! More than her own life!

As if struck hard by a heavy hammer, Shen Jichen, furious to the extreme, laughed coldly. His voice was low and ominous, "Yue Rongrong, listen carefully. You will make this wedding dress, whether you like it or not. Otherwise, there will be no place for you in the capital."

**

Shen Jichen was not making empty threats; he indeed had the power and means to do so.

Yue Rongrong had been staying at the Marquis's residence very late these past two days. The embroiderers at their Cloud Brocade Manor relied not only on their monthly wages from the Brocade Pavilion but also, more importantly, on the tips from nobility and officials. Since she couldn’t get any from Shen Jichen, she could only work as quickly as possible, hoping to finish early.

But this, within Cloud Brocade Manor, was seen as having suspicious intentions.

Early this morning, Yue Rongrong woke up late. Zhong Yu tugged at her sleeve, urging her to eat something before going to the Marquis's residence. But then Du Yan's sarcastic voice cut in: "Don’t delay her from currying favor with the nobility."

Before Yue Rongrong could react, Zhen Xi was already angry: "Don't talk nonsense! Rong Rong doesn’t have such intentions!"

Du Yan sneered, "Returning later each day—isn’t that intentional, trying to seduce Marquis Shen? Using the cover of darkness, isn’t it?"

Zhen Xi was so furious she wanted to grab Du Yan's hair, but instead she turned and gripped Yue Rongrong's hand, saying sternly, "Rong Rong, don’t go to the Marquis's residence! Let’s see how she continues to spread rumors about you!"

Before Yue Rongrong could speak, the shopkeeper's voice rang out from behind: "What's all this noise early in the morning? Everyone, stand properly!"

No one knew what brought the shopkeeper here at this hour. His eyes searched through the group before he began calling names.

"Han Zhen, Zhong Yu, Zhen Xi, and Du Yan—he announced—today, you don’t need to work. Come with me to the banquet."

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, the shopkeeper’s eyes lingered on Yue Rongrong’s face. He hesitated for a moment, looked away, then turned back to her.

The distinguished guest had requested the most beautiful embroiderers to accompany them. In terms of beauty, no one surpassed Yue Rongrong. But today, she was scheduled to go to the Marquis’s residence. Naturally, he couldn’t afford to offend Marquis Shen, yet the other party was also someone of significant influence...

Although their Jinxiu Lou had no precedent of sending embroiderers for entertainment duties, he couldn’t refuse a powerful request. The shopkeeper had no choice but to comply.

Zhong Yu, puzzled, asked, "Who's inviting us to the banquet?"

The shopkeeper, still deep in thought, replied impatiently, "The young master of the Liang family, Liang Shaoqing, the Minor Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He said he’s hosting a banquet specifically to thank Han Zhen."

At the mention of the Liang family, Ren Hanzhen was momentarily stunned, then lowered her head and smiled demurely.

Du Yan’s eyes lit up. "Han Zhen, Liang Shaoqing is specifically hosting a banquet for you."

Though the Liang family couldn’t compare to the Shen family in prestige, they were still an influential official household. In this generation, they had even produced an imperial consort who was said to be the emperor’s favorite, to the extent that even Empress Shen had to tread carefully around her. Naturally, the Liang family’s status had risen.

In an instant, the way everyone looked at Ren Hanzhen changed. Yet Ren Hanzhen remained composed, a faint smile on her lips.

At this point, the shopkeeper hesitated and spoke to Yue Rongrong, "Rong Rong... could you go?"

Du Yan immediately became wary. "Liang Shaoqing is hosting the banquet for Han Zhen. The rest of us are merely accompanying her. Why should she go?"

Yue Rongrong cast a cold glance at Du Yan and said, "Shopkeeper, I can go."

Author's note:

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Wen Song: I was so scared at the time, I didn’t dare breathe. [bursting into tears]