Chapter 19 Marquis vs Wei Hui “So stay far away from Wei Hui.”…

Chapter 19: The Marquis vs. Wei Hui

The front courtyard of the Wei residence also housed their umbrella shop. With guests present, Mrs. Wei had closed up a quarter of an hour early and now entered the back courtyard, carrying a steaming bowl of hangover soup. She placed it before Shen Jichen, who acknowledged her with a reserved nod. Mrs. Wei was momentarily stunned once more—such a distinguished figure, even a simple nod exuded elegance.

“How are you feeling?” Yue Rongrong inquired with concern.

Mrs. Wei patted her arm. “Fit as a fiddle! My son exaggerates; I only coughed a couple of times.” She then sat down and addressed Shen Jichen, “We don’t have any grand feasts here, so please make do with what we have.” Mrs. Wei could discern Shen Jichen’s exceptionally noble status.

Yue Rongrong’s lip twitched. Mrs. Wei’s cheerful disposition remained unchanged. The four of them settled around a square table.

Wei Hui sat directly opposite Shen Jichen, looking displeased. He found Shen Jichen utterly insufferable. “Drunk at this hour—clearly the behavior of a good-for-nothing. Rongrong, don’t you despise wastrels the most?”

Yue Rongrong’s eyes widened in shock. Shen Jichen cast a leisurely glance at Yue Rongrong, his voice cool. “I hear you’re taking the imperial exams this year?”

Wei Hui, supremely confident in his scholarship, puffed out his chest proudly. “That’s right.”

Yue Rongrong hastily interjected, “Don’t speak to him like that.”

Wei Hui was taken aback, looking at her with a wounded expression. “Rongrong… you’re siding with him?”

Yue Rongrong quickly served him a chopstick-full of food. “Let’s eat first.”

*Young man, you have no idea who you’re sitting across from. Cross him, and you’ll face dire consequences.*

Shen Jichen, who had ostensibly been “defended,” also looked grim, coldly observing Yue Rongrong serving food to Wei Hui. Without a trace of emotion, he pushed the bowl of hangover soup beside him toward Yue Rongrong and said lightly, “It’s too hot.”

Yue Rongrong’s hand, holding her chopsticks, paused slightly. She looked at Shen Jichen in disbelief, but seeing his calm yet subtly threatening gaze, she pressed her lips together and reluctantly picked up the hangover soup, stirring it to cool it down. Shen Jichen seemed satisfied and glanced at Wei Hui, who was glaring fiercely at him.

Mrs. Wei ate contentedly, enjoying the spectacle. She asked Shen Jichen in a light tone, “So, how old are you, young master? Are you married?”

Shen Jichen replied, “I once was, but she ran off with someone else.”

Yue Rongrong choked, her face flushing crimson. She hurriedly said, “Sorry, the hangover soup spilled. I’ll get you another bowl.”

But Shen Jichen calmly took the bowl from her hands. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

Mrs. Wei was still reeling from the earlier revelation. “Aiya!” she exclaimed. “Someone like you, and your wife ran off with someone else? Who on earth was it?”

Shen Jichen nodded profoundly. “At that time, she might have had her head filled with nonsense.”

Yue Rongrong retorted angrily, “Yours is the head full of nonsense!”

Shen Jichen raised an eyebrow noncommittally. Yue Rongrong suddenly froze, noticing Mrs. Wei and her son looking at her strangely. She let out an awkward laugh and turned to Shen Jichen, stating righteously, “Young master, speaking ill of others is not the conduct of a gentleman.”

Mrs. Wei observed Yue Rongrong’s unusual demeanor, something she’d never witnessed before, and her smile deepened. Suddenly remembering something, she left the table and returned shortly with a pouch, handing it to Yue Rongrong. “Rongrong, this is your payment for helping me paint the umbrella designs last time.”

Yue Rongrong accepted it cheerfully.

Shen Jichen frowned slightly. “Painting? What painting?”

Mrs. Wei explained, “Rongrong comes by periodically to help me paint umbrella designs. You wouldn’t know, but Rongrong’s painting skills are exceptional. Any umbrella she paints sells the fastest, so I always pay her for her work.”

“Just for this bit of money?” Shen Jichen asked coldly.

The Wei mother and son winced.

Yue Rongrong didn’t want Shen Jichen to spoil the meal for the Wei family, so she quickly served him some food. “My lord, it’s a significant sum. You, being so wealthy, naturally wouldn’t care for it, but it means a lot to me.”

She said this with a carefree laugh, but Shen Jichen’s expression darkened further. Fortunately, he didn’t utter any more unpleasant words, and the meal concluded peacefully.

Yue Rongrong didn’t dare linger and prepared to leave. Wei Hui rushed to see her off. Mrs. Wei said little but leaned close to Yue Rongrong’s ear to whisper, “Normally, my son seems quite handsome and refined, but next to this gentleman, he looks like a complete bumpkin. No wonder you’re not interested in him. If I were twenty years younger, I’d have a crush on this lord too!”

Mrs. Wei, true to her businesswoman’s nature, didn’t deliberately pry into Shen Jichen’s identity.

Yue Rongrong’s face flushed red. She hurriedly glanced at Shen Jichen, relieved he wasn’t looking their way and likely hadn’t heard. Not daring to explain further to Mrs. Wei, she quickly said her goodbyes and left the Wei residence.

Wen Song was already waiting by the carriage. Seeing them emerge, he bowed respectfully.

Wei Hui, already intimidated by Shen Jichen’s presence, was even more so by the grandeur of the carriage. His heart tightened, and he quickly said to Yue Rongrong, “Rongrong, once I pass the exams and get an official posting, I’ll have a carriage like this too. Wherever you want to go, I’ll take you.”

Before Yue Rongrong could reply, a cold laugh sounded nearby. Wei Hui’s face reddened. Shen Jichen got into the carriage first and, seeing Yue Rongrong lingering outside to talk to Wei Hui, lifted the curtain and said displeased, “Get in.”

With Wei Hui’s exams approaching, Yue Rongrong didn’t want him to offend Shen Jichen. She quickly agreed, bid Wei Hui farewell, and got into the carriage.

Wen Song skillfully maneuvered, helping Yue Rongrong into the carriage while subtly blocking Wei Hui. Once Yue Rongrong was inside, he turned back and smiled faintly. “Young Master Wei, is it? This carriage isn’t something you can get just by becoming a *zhuangyuan* (top scholar). You’d need to reach the third-rank official.”

Wei Hui was stunned. Wen Song patted his shoulder cheerfully. “Keep striving.” He then jumped onto the carriage driver’s seat and drove off.

The mood in the carriage shifted. Shen Jichen watched Yue Rongrong still sitting near the door, his expression grim. He sneered, “Are you that afraid I’ll do something to him?”

Yue Rongrong turned to him seriously. “Whatever is between you and me has nothing to do with Wei Hui. Please, don’t take your anger out on him.” She tried to maintain her composure, but her voice trembled slightly.

The lamp inside the carriage cast a deep, ominous light in Shen Jichen’s eyes. “What do you think I’d do to him?”

Yue Rongrong said, “A man of your status can do anything.” Her tone sounded both resentful and sorrowful.

Shen Jichen let out a bitter laugh. He nodded, his voice icy. “You’re right. So you’d better stay away from Wei Hui.”

Yue Rongrong’s heart skipped a beat, her face paling. Shen Jichen’s heart clenched, and he irritably looked away. After a moment, he turned back to her and said sternly, “Your painting skills have been praised by masters. Don’t you find it demeaning to paint umbrella designs for these people?”

Yue Rongrong shook her head. “No. Praise from masters doesn’t put food on the table.”

Shen Jichen stared at her incredulously, his brow tightly furrowed. “Since when did you become so vulgar?”

Yue Rongrong suppressed the sting of his words and said with a light laugh, “Money is important.”

Shen Jichen’s expression darkened further. He closed his eyes as if he couldn’t bear to look at her. The carriage fell silent again. Yue Rongrong turned to look out the window, her mind flashing back to the meal at the Wei family’s home, feeling a faint sense of lightness in her heart.

When they reached the west gate of Brocade Tower, she got out. Shen Jichen called out to stop her. She turned to look at him, only to hear his cool, clear voice say, “Don’t forget to come to the Hou Mansion tomorrow to make shoes.”

Yue Rongrong wanted to refuse, but seeing Shen Jichen’s immediate frown, she could only nod. Shen Jichen’s expression softened slightly as he lowered the curtain. Wen Song bowed respectfully to Yue Rongrong before getting into the carriage and driving away.

＊＊

After washing up, Yue Rongrong climbed into bed. It was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM). Ren Hanzhen and Zhang Jing were already asleep. She looked up and noticed Zhen Xi’s bed was still empty. Her heart sank, and she sat up. It was so late already. She quickly got out of bed, threw on a cloak, and went to find Zhong Yu. But as soon as she stepped out, she saw a figure dart quickly into the washroom. She froze in fright, then recognized the figure as Zhen Xi. She hurried after her.

The washroom had partitioned stalls. She knocked on the door and asked, “Zhen Xi, is that you?”

There was no answer, but the sound of water could be heard. She knocked again. “Zhen Xi?”

Still no response. She was about to push the door open, but it was locked. Since no outside men entered Cloud Brocade Pavilion, Zhen Xi usually didn’t lock the door while bathing. Worried, she knocked again. Finally, a voice came from inside.

“It’s me.” It sounded slightly panicked.

Yue Rongrong sighed in relief. “Zhen Xi, what’s wrong?”

“I… I just came back. It was dark, and I didn’t see the night soil bucket. I kicked it over. Don’t come in! It smells awful…”

Zhen Xi's voice trembled slightly. Yue Rongrong, thinking Zhen Xi was disgusted with herself and afraid of being laughed at, said, "You're always so careless. I'll wait for you in the room. Be careful."

A good moment later, Zhen Xi's voice finally came: "Okay."

Yue Rongrong frowned, feeling that something was off about Zhen Xi's voice. Could she have caught a cold? As she wondered, she went to the small kitchen and boiled a pot of ginger soup. By the time it was ready, thinking Zhen Xi would have finished bathing and returned to the room, she ladled out the soup and headed back. But as she entered the small courtyard, she suddenly spotted a flickering light. Hurrying over, she saw Zhen Xi burning something.

Author's Note:

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Marquis Shen has no shortage of strength or methods. [Helpless]