HXC Chapter36

The large-scale dethronement finally concluded in the winter, and the capital returned to a state of calm. The Shen Mansion was as peaceful as ever, at least on the surface.

 

Ever since the fall of the Ji family, the gossiping servants in the mansion often privately discussed whether the main courtyard would have a new master.

 

Shen Yanqing was promoted a month ago. At less than twenty-five years old, he was already a fourth-grade Hanlin academician. His future was boundless, and with his clear and distinguished appearance, many good families were eyeing him. A while ago, the most famous matchmaker in the capital, Madam Zhang, was entrusted by the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments to step into the Shen Mansion.

 

The Vice-Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments intended to marry his legitimate second daughter into the Shen family, but given her family’s status, she couldn’t be a concubine. He proposed that she be elevated to a co-equal wife. Old Madam Shen didn’t agree immediately but also didn’t completely refuse, seeming somewhat tempted.

 

The servants were abuzz with discussion, all thinking that a happy event was approaching, but five or six days had passed without any progress. A piece of news finally arrived today: the legitimate second daughter of the Vice-Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments and the son of the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Justice had taken a liking to each other and would be getting engaged soon.

 

This happy event had fallen through.

 

But that didn’t stop other people from eyeing the Shen family.

 

Ji An was eavesdropping on a round of gossip from a corner. It seemed that the grandmother of a certain family had come to visit, ostensibly for a casual call, but actually to arrange a marriage for her granddaughter. Ever since his master couldn’t go to Ningzhou with Lord Ji, he had been despondent every day in the mansion and also had to endure the slander of these loose-tongued people. Ji An truly wanted to take a pair of scissors and cut off their long tongues to feed to dogs.

 

Ji An was holding a plate of walnut shortbread and, in a fit of anger, wanted to show himself and argue with the whispering servants. But the servants who were gathered together looked in his direction first and fell silent awkwardly.

 

He turned his head and saw that Ji Zhen was standing behind him, having appeared at some unknown time.

 

Ji Zhen had heard everything the servants said—crystal clear. In this Shen Mansion, no one had ever truly believed that he could live in the main courtyard legitimately. In the past, he turned his full heart of love into a shield against gossip, but now he no longer had the energy to argue with others.

 

Ji An thought that Ji Zhen would surely punish this group of servants who spoke ill of their master, and he stood with his chest puffed out, glaring fiercely at them.

 

However, Ji Zhen did not act with the same arrogance as before. Instead, he pretended not to know anything and didn’t even bother to address them, simply saying to Ji An, “Bring the walnut shortbread into the room.”

 

Ji An said angrily, “Young Master, they…”

 

Catching sight of Ji Zhen’s listless expression, he suppressed the rest of his words.

 

Ji Zhen returned to the main room, feeling a little more relaxed. He grabbed a piece of walnut shortbread and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he said indistinctly, “Why do you care what they say?”

 

Ji An defended him, “Are we just going to let them talk nonsense?”

 

Ji Zhen swallowed the walnut shortbread with a sip of tea, unable to tell if the taste in his heart was disappointment or bitterness. He smiled at Ji An. “I don’t ask for anything now; I’m just waiting for the day I can be reunited with Gege.” He placed a pastry in Ji An’s palm. “Dear Ji An, don’t be angry. Have a piece of walnut shortbread.”

 

In the past, Ji An actually thought his master was a bit willful, but now that Ji Zhen was so understanding and sensible, he felt sad instead. If the Eldest Young Master were still here… He was too upset to pretend anymore.

 

The master and servant ate their pastries in silence.

 

A moment later, a servant came to report that Shen Yanqing would be returning to the mansion for dinner tonight after his duty.

 

It had been nearly half a month since Ji Jue was sent off, and during this time, Shen Yanqing had been staying in the main courtyard every night, leaving the east and west courtyards untouched.

 

Ji Zhen replied with a casual hum.

 

The maid asked an extra question. “Young Madam, should I tell the kitchen to stew some soup, or do you have any other instructions?”

 

Ji Zhen shook his head. He had done these small, trivial things before, but Shen Yanqing had never paid any attention to them, so there was no point in wasting the effort.

 

The maid responded with an “alright,” took two steps back, and began whispering to the servants outside, “Don’t you feel like Young Madam is a little different?”

 

“Of course. Now that the Ji family has fallen, even though he’s not a blood relative, he still has the surname Ji. He has to be on his best behavior. How can he be as arrogant as he used to be?”

 

The voices of their conversation faded. “What you’re saying is too harsh. Young Madam was always good to us…”

 

Ji Zhen didn’t hear what they were saying and didn’t really care either. He gulped down the hot tea.

 

In winter, the sky grew dark early. The Shen father and son arrived at the mansion close to dusk.

 

Father Shen took off his official hat and said, “Your mother spoke to me again about your marriage last night. In my opinion, if Ji Zhen doesn’t object, you might as well consider it.”

 

Shen Yanqing replied with certainty, “Father and Mother, please stop worrying about my marriage. Not only is my heart not in it, but even if it were, Ji Zhen would never agree either.”

 

“He is a man after all. Our Shen family has never had a precedent for this,” Father Shen sighed. “This matter is not urgent. You should think about it more.”

 

Shen Yanqing bid his father farewell and walked toward the main courtyard under the moonlight.

 

The meal had already been served on the table, and Ji Zhen had already eaten. When Shen Yanqing arrived, he was sitting under the candlelight, reading a storybook. It was full of simple folk tales that didn’t require much thought and were good for passing the time. Ji Zhen didn’t like going out much now. One reason was that Shen Yanqing kept a close eye on him, always sending people to follow him. Another was that the last time he went to Ziyun Lou, he ran into Zhang Zhen and others and heard some unpleasant things, which made him even less inclined to go out and be ridiculed for no reason.

 

He was just getting to an exciting part of the story when Shen Yanqing arrived. He only gave him a glance with his peripheral vision and continued to focus on the story.

 

The food on the dining table hadn’t been touched much. Even the Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish that Ji Zhen loved the most had only a few bites taken out of it.

 

For the past half-month, Ji Zhen had been giving Shen Yanqing the cold shoulder. Sometimes, he would only respond to one of Shen Yanqing’s three sentences. Shen Yanqing just assumed he hadn’t moved on from the changes in the Ji family and didn’t force him to talk. But today, Ji Zhen didn’t even eat at the same table with him and showed no reaction at all when he saw him. Shen Yanqing couldn’t help but feel a little bothered.

 

A shadow fell over the words in the book. Ji Zhen raised his eyes in displeasure and saw Shen Yanqing standing in front of him. Without a greeting, he moved to another spot and continued reading.

 

To his surprise, Shen Yanqing tried to take his book.

 

Ji Zhen looked at him with a childish glare. “Give it back.”

 

Shen Yanqing casually flipped through a few pages. It was a very cliché story, nothing new. How could Ji Zhen find it so interesting?

 

He returned the book to Ji Zhen, who simply took it and ran to the bed, burrowing into the blankets to read while lying on his stomach.

 

Shen Yanqing frowned. Not wanting to court a rebuff, he ate his meal alone in silence. After a quick wash, he also took a book and sat under the candlelight to read quietly.

 

This was a scene that had never happened before.

 

Whenever Shen Yanqing was reading, Ji Zhen would make some noise to get his attention, pretending to drink water or pacing around the room. There were even times when he would start to undress.

 

Shen Yanqing’s mind frequently wandered, and he looked toward the bed.

 

With someone else in the room, Ji Zhen found himself unable to focus on his storybook any longer. His thoughts kept wandering beyond his control, though he could still restrain his gaze and keep his body in check.

 

He couldn’t leave the Shen Mansion and didn’t have Shen Yanqing’s cunning to contend with. He knew he was weak and useless, but he had his own way of expressing his dissatisfaction—he would no longer demean himself by clinging to Shen Yanqing. He would just treat Shen Yanqing as a stranger living under the same roof, ignoring him completely.

 

Ji Zhen felt hot and stretched his two legs out from under the blankets, his shins dangling in the air, swaying slowly.

 

Seeing this, Shen Yanqing paused his page-turning and suddenly blew out the candle.

 

Only one dim lamp remained in the main room. Ji Zhen couldn’t see the storybook and half-sat up, about to accuse the other party of extinguishing the candle for no reason, but Shen Yanqing was already walking toward the bed.

 

In the dim light, Shen Yanqing’s handsome features were half-lit and half-shadowed. Ji Zhen’s breathing froze slightly, and he slowly retreated to the inner part of the bed.

 

Shen Yanqing got onto the bed, and Ji Zhen’s back was pressed against the bottom. The storybook he was still holding was then pulled away.

 

He lay there rigid, swallowing once with a dry throat. His clear, luminous eyes avoided meeting Shen Yanqing’s gaze, lowering timidly in a shy half-glance.

 

Shen Yanqing leaned over was the one hand braced beside his neck and the other caressing his cheek, silently gazing at him.

 

In the past half-month, there had been too many frequent, ridiculous intimate encounters, all of which Ji Zhen had never experienced before. As soon as his eyes met the other party’s deep gaze, he pursed his lips in a mix of shyness and fear.

 

He didn’t understand why Shen Yanqing, who was not so enthusiastic about physical intimacy before, would repeatedly engage in relations with him now, but he vaguely guessed that the Shen Yanqing he knew was only the tip of the iceberg. He hadn’t seen clearly and had misjudged him.

 

Since he couldn’t escape, Ji Zhen trembled and closed his eyes.

 

Shen Yanqing was kissing him, nuzzling against his ear. Their four damp lips were squeezed and deformed during the kiss. Ji Zhen lay there with his face flushed. A suggestive slurping sound was next to his ear. A tongue licked across his palate. A tingling numbness spread across his tailbone, like tiny ants crawling over it, making his body quiver faintly.

 

A stifled moan escaped his throat, and the word “whore” abruptly leaped into Ji Zhen’s mind. Thinking that Shen Yanqing had once used such a harsh word to describe him, he felt that his own reaction was too shameless, as if it confirmed what the other party had said. To suppress the uncontrollable stirrings of emotion, he secretly and forcefully pinched the flesh on his thigh, using the pain to force back all of the lust.

 

Shen Yanqing kissed him for a while, then pulled away and looked down, only to see Ji Zhen’s expression of pained endurance with a furrowed brow.

 

It was like a sudden blow to the head, and the heat instantly receded.

 

He pinched Ji Zhen’s cheeks and stared deeply at the soft, reddened tongue. His state of mind was like the snow under the eaves and the wind of the twelfth lunar month.

 

Ji Zhen opened his eyes. The moisture that came from the pain of the pinch filled them. Facing Shen Yanqing’s heavy gaze, he was afraid and said indistinctly with a heavy tone, “Are you going to bully me again?”

 

He couldn’t bring himself to remember the disgraceful state he had been in on the bed. His cheek leaned into Shen Yanqing’s palm, and when he blinked, his lashes grew wet with moisture.

 

Shen Yanqing was silent for a few moments, then closed Ji Zhen’s messy shirt and lay down.

 

Having “escaped a calamity,” Ji Zhen wiped his eyes haphazardly, then, afraid that Shen Yanqing would act out again, hesitated and was about to turn over when the other party pulled him into his arms.

 

Shen Yanqing’s chin rested on Ji Zhen’s head, he held the warm body in his arms tightly.

 

Memories of the past four years flooded his mind. He and Ji Zhen had been at loggerheads and had also been peaceful and comfortable, but they had never been so distant in bed as they were today. Even though he held him so tightly, he felt that Ji Zhen was a world away.

 

The Ji Zhen who had a private affair with Jiang Yunyu, the Ji Zhen who wanted to go far away with Ji Jue…

 

It had been nearly half a month since then. Even now, when Shen Yanqing recalled the moment he was caught off guard seeing the bruises on Ji Zhen’s body that night, he still couldn’t stop all the violent, dark, and angry thoughts from surging and rising. But they were ultimately slowly extinguished by Ji Zhen’s tears and accusations.

 

Everything had been settled. Even if Shen Yanqing had the power to reach the heavens, he couldn’t reverse the established facts.

 

He held him tighter and tighter and then slowly opened his mouth, “Ji Zhen…”

 

The past was like spilled water; it couldn’t be reclaimed, and it had to be mutually erased. From now on, in the flow of time, their marital fate would be reshaped.

 

But before he could say anything more, Ji Zhen had already mumbled, “I want to sleep.”

 

The words trailed off unfinished, and the emotions that had stirred within him faded away.

 

The man who had always been in control of the situation also had moments of helplessness.

 

They were always so ill-timed.

 

The author has something to say:

Lord Shen: Wife, let’s have a good life together from now on.

Zhen Zhen: I’m sleeping. Bye-bye.

He knew to chase the pig only after it ran away, and he only realize he should coax the person only after they had already left. Lord Shen, you’re really something else (gives a thumbs-up).

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T/N: Man doing everything except explain himself and actually communicate💀