Chapter 25: Embarrassment

Chapter 25: Shame and Embarrassment

"Careful!"

Cheng Yi saw Shen Yichen about to fall backward and blurted out without thinking.

Fortunately, his body reacted faster than his words. Before Shen Yichen could fall, he had already leaned forward and firmly grasped Shen Yichen's wrist.

With a slight pull, he steadily drew the person back in front of him.

Shen Yichen was still shaken, but the first thing he did upon regaining his senses was turn to look behind him.

The waiter who had been carrying tea upstairs was startled by his sudden movement and stumbled backward, missing a step. It looked like he and the tea were about to tumble down the stairs.

At that critical moment, Wei Xiao's figure flickered as he stepped forward quickly, reaching out to steadily support the waiter's back, thus preventing a disaster.

Shen Yichen let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then he heard Cheng Yi's gentle voice from above him.

"I'm sorry—my sudden appearance startled you."

Shen Yichen was momentarily stunned.

This man didn't blame him for his recklessness, but instead took the initiative to take the blame himself.

He had never met anyone like this. Even he himself had cultivated the skill of shifting blame to others, pinning false accusations on one person after another.

Yet just now, it was clearly his own fault—he had been the one startled by Cheng Yi's sudden appearance while coming up the stairs and nearly fallen. But Cheng Yi said it was his fault.

This future husband of his was truly an odd man.

Husband...

For some reason, just those two words crossing his mind made Shen Yichen's ears burn, and his heart pounded uncontrollably, as if it might leap out of his chest at any moment.

The fluttering feeling from that day came rushing back, and he couldn't suppress it.

He hastily lowered his head and looked down, not daring to meet Cheng Yi's gaze, feeling inexplicably guilty.

"Are you alright?"

Seeing him avoid his eyes and the strange blush spreading to his ears, Cheng Yi noticed how his delicate frame shrank before him like a small quail, looking inexplicably cute.

His heart skipped a beat, and Cheng Yi reached out to grab his slender wrist again.

But Shen Yichen snatched his hand back as if burned, then looked up at him, panicked like a startled fawn.

His already beautiful eyes went wide, staring at Cheng Yi, their clear depths seeming to show everything at a glance.

Cheng Yi looked down and caught his own reflection in those clear eyes.

"I-I'm fine."

Cheng Yi watched his little face turn bright red, his clear, innocent eyes showing panic and guilt, yet he tried to act calm.

He couldn't help chuckling softly.

He raised his hand again, this time toward the corner of Shen Yichen's mouth.

His eyes, already wide, grew even wider, as if he were completely frozen.

God knows, at this moment Shen Yichen's heart was about to leap out of his chest.

What is he doing?

What is he trying to do?

Suddenly, he felt a tingling at the corner of his mouth.

It was a soft fingertip, slightly cool, brushing gently across the corner of his lips.

Shen Yichen's mind went completely blank.

He just stood there, looking up, staring blankly at the man before him, his mouth slightly open, completely forgetting how to react.

Cheng Yi held up his finger, stained with sugar, and waved it in front of his husband's eyes.

No reaction.

He waved it once more.

Seeing his dazed look, Cheng Yi couldn't help teasing him.

"You've still got sugar at the corner of your mouth—were you eating candied hawthorn just now?"

Whoosh!

Shen Yichen's face turned bright red, his cheeks burning.

At that moment, he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

Ugh, so embarrassing!

Shen Yichen stiffly raised a hand to cover his face, then turned to glare indignantly at Chuliu and Wei Xiao behind him.

Those two unreliable guys—he had sugar on his mouth and they didn't even tell him!

But Chuliu met his accusing gaze with an utterly innocent look. What made it worse was that Chuliu had even more sugar on his mouth, and Chuliu was staring back with wide, innocent eyes, looking foolish and dazed.

No hope.

Then he turned to Wei Xiao.

Wei Xiao looked even more innocent than Chuliu.

He had been following behind the master and his servant the whole time. As a man, he naturally had to keep his distance and mind his manners.

Besides, Shen Yichen was his master's husband, his future master. How could he openly stare at his face?

So it made sense he hadn't noticed.

Fine, nothing he could do about it.

Shen Yichen hung his head and stomped up the stairs.

So embarrassing. So, so embarrassing.

He must be jinxed when it comes to Cheng Yi—why did every run-in with him end in one embarrassment after another?

Cheng Yi trailed after him, looking amused and unhurried, until they stepped into another private room.

Shen Yichen didn't dare sneak even one glance at him, let alone meet his eyes.

He just kept glancing around, looking every which way, or fanning himself with his hand as if the breezy, cool room were sweltering.

His attempt to hide his nerves was painfully obvious.

The gloom from those two earlier inexplicably lifted.

Cheng Yi's lips curled up without him realizing it.

Even his normally cold, hard features softened just a touch.

Cheng Yi called over the waiter and ordered a few signature pastries along with Tingyu Pavilion's famous Longjing tea.

The pastries smelled absolutely divine.

Now Chuliu wasn't the only one swallowing hard—even Shen Yichen looked eager with anticipation.

So he was a little glutton after all.

Cheng Yi then asked about what had happened at the Minister's residence today.

At the mention of it, Shen Yichen instantly cast aside his earlier awkwardness, his whole demeanor brightening with energy.

He launched into an animated account of all the commotion at the Minister's residence.

Wei Xiao and Chuliu chimed in at just the right moments, and soon Shen Yichen was painting a vivid picture of Lady Marquis of Yong'an going head-to-head with Wang Shuci right before Cheng Yi's eyes.

Watching him talk with such animation, Cheng Yi's mood unknowingly lifted too.

But Chuliu, standing off to the side, suddenly dropped his smile, his eyes full of worry:

"It was satisfying, sure, but tonight's going to be rough when we get back," he said, stealing cautious glances at Cheng Yi's face, and only going on when he saw no reaction, "I wonder how the Lord and Third Young Master are going to punish our young master this time."

He was clearly working an angle, but terrified Cheng Yi would see through it and get annoyed.

The second he finished, he dropped his head in guilt, silently praying that Second Young Master Cheng would find a way to protect his young master.

Please, Buddha, don't let his young master have put his trust in the wrong man.

Shen Yichen hadn't expected Chuliu to bring that up out of nowhere; the humiliation from the day of the marriage proposal was still fresh in his mind, and he really didn't want to lay all his troubles out in front of Cheng Yi.

But Chuliu, completely missing his signals, was too busy staring at his own feet.

Cheng Yi saw right through Chuliu's scheme, but before he could say anything, Shen Yichen spoke up casually:

"Chuliu, what are you getting all worked up for? Don't you know your young master's personality by now? That stupid father-and-son pair—they can't bully me."

Even if they tried, he'd find a way to make them pay double.

—Shen Yichen silently added in his mind.

Seeing Chuliu open his mouth hesitantly, Shen Yichen quickly cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Relax, your young master's got it all figured out. I guarantee they won't dare lay a finger on me."

"Besides, every three days I hand out grain to the poor at the Minister's residence gate. If anything happened to me, they'd definitely report it to the authorities for me. As long as Wang Shuci doesn't want the whole Minister's residence to become the laughingstock of the capital, he won't dare mess with me."

He said it with total confidence, not a hint of worry on his face.

Chuliu finally gave up on the idea of asking Cheng Yi for help.

Cheng Yi saw it plainly—Shen Yichen didn't want him getting involved in his affairs.

Yet, watching his breezy tone and seemingly carefree attitude, it wasn't hard to imagine how much hardship and suffering he'd endured over the years in that household to develop such composure and cunning.

A pang of tenderness welled up in his chest.

Cheng Yi mulled it over briefly, a plan already taking shape, but on the surface he only said:

"Since you've got a plan, I feel better. But if you ever need anything, you must tell me right away."

"Alright."

Shen Yichen agreed readily.

Maybe not wanting Cheng Yi to keep thinking about it, he quickly changed the subject:

"By the way, why are you at Tingyu Pavilion?"

Cheng Yi hadn't expected that question and was caught off guard for a second.

Remembering the show those two had put on earlier, the irritation surged back, and his eyes unconsciously darkened.

Shen Yichen caught the flicker of displeasure on the man's face.

His heart suddenly clenched, like something heavy was pressing on it, mixed with a strange, bitter ache.

No one was better at reading people than him; he couldn't be wrong.

He'd overstepped.

Stupid mouth.

"Forget it, what you do here has nothing to do with me."

He dropped his head right away, muttering under his breath like he couldn't care less.

But Cheng Yi's mind was already spinning.

Having lived a second life, he'd already settled all his past debts, and the entanglements with those two were his burden alone.

He wouldn't let his little husband be touched by any of it—he'd keep him safe under his wing and give him a peaceful life.

So after a brief pause, Cheng Yi just said simply:

"Just came to take care of some small business."

"Oh."

Shen Yichen answered flatly, looking completely uninterested.

Cheng Yi didn't dwell on it, but then he suddenly remembered the jade pendant that had run through his ten-year entanglement with Xie Yulin in his past life—it was still in his possession.

"Wei Xiao, find a pawnshop and pawn this jade pendant. Hand the money to Lu Zhun—he'll know what to do with it."

There was no way he was throwing it away, even if it was a total jinx.

Money was tight right now. Though this jade pendant was no rare treasure, it could still fetch a hundred taels at the pawnshop, no problem.

Wei Xiao had pawned plenty of stuff for his master before, so he just took it without a second thought.

Shen Yichen, standing right there, was totally floored.

He'd figured that when Cheng Yi casually handed him two thousand taels that day, it was because Cheng Yi had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and that Duke Zhenguo and Lady Marquis Zhongyong had always given him whatever he wanted.

So two thousand taels would obviously be pocket change to Cheng Yi.

But he never expected Cheng Yi to have to pawn stuff just to make ends meet.

Had that two thousand taels come from pawning things too?

A sudden wave of guilt hit Shen Yichen—guilt over his own petty, overly sensitive feelings from a moment ago, and guilt over his own awkward situation.

The wedding was fast approaching, but his situation meant he couldn't come up with a single decent dowry.

Real estate, shops, cash...

He had nothing worth offering.

The sweet osmanthus cake, so soft it melted in his mouth, was something Shen Yichen had never tasted before, but in that moment, he suddenly felt the osmanthus cake at Tingyu Pavilion wasn't all that special after all.

Maybe because he'd honed his skills at hiding his feelings since he was a kid, Cheng Yi didn't catch the change in Shen Yichen's expression.

Watching him scarf down the osmanthus cakes one after another, Cheng Yi simply assumed he enjoyed them.

Cheng Yi quietly made a mental note of what he liked and signaled Wei Xiao to have the kitchen pack up two portions for Shen Yichen to take back to the Minister's residence and enjoy at his leisure.

When they parted, Shen Yichen had already pulled himself together, putting back on his spirited, determined front.

After all, he knew a tough battle was waiting for him back at the Minister's residence.

Meanwhile, back at the Marquis's residence, Cheng Yi went straight to find Wen Wanning.

"Mother, I need to ask you something, and it's urgent."

Wen Wanning nearly jumped out of her skin.

She figured it had to be something huge, but when she asked, it turned out he just wanted her to pass a message to the Minister's residence.

But when Wen Wanning heard what Cheng Yi was asking, she was instantly stunned.

"You mean, on the wedding day, instead of the eight-man sedan chair, the groom should ride a horse over?"

Wen Wanning was shocked and totally confused.

Hadn't she been told to prepare everything at the highest standard?

The eight-man sedan chair was the ultimate show of respect for the groom and the highest wedding etiquette—it gave the other side face while also showing off the dignity of Duke Zhenguo's household.

Besides, she'd never seen any family have the groom ride a horse to the wedding.

"Yi'er, are you sure about this?"

She sure as hell wasn't.

But Cheng Yi nodded with absolute certainty.

"Mother, don't worry. I've got this."

Cheng Yi knew his actions often left people scratching their heads, but luckily, his mother had always been open-minded, willing to hear people out, never stubborn or high-handed.

Cheng Yi then explained everything to Wen Wanning.

After hearing him out, Wen Wanning finally understood the logic behind it and appreciated how thoughtful Cheng Yi was being.

Besides, like Cheng Yi said, the Cheng family had always been a martial clan, so riding a horse through the gates wasn't a big deal—it would even make the Marquis's household stand out in a good way.

Wen Wanning even remarked openly that her Yi'er had been exceptionally clever since childhood, and now even more so.

This time, it was Cheng Yi's turn to feel embarrassed.

Returning to his own Yuxiu Studio, the shadow agent who had been absent for days appeared silently beside Cheng Yi.

The shadow brought two pieces of news:

First, Steward Wu had made no moves during this period—each day, aside from assisting Wen Wanning with wedding preparations, he diligently attended to Cheng Jimo, with no abnormality in any of his actions.

This was within Cheng Yi's expectations.

After all, a man who could lie low in the Marquis's household for over twenty years without ever slipping up was clearly extremely patient.

What surprised Cheng Yi was the second piece of news.

Previously, Cheng Yi had ordered the shadow to thoroughly investigate Shen Yunhe, and now a complete report had come back.

Cheng Yi never imagined that the investigation into Shen Yunhe would uncover a connection between him and Shen Yichen.

==========Author's Note:==========

Shen Yichen: Please, let me leave this planet!