Chapter 23

“A marriage proposal!!?”

The girl’s voice cracked somewhat jarringly. Mother Shen frowned, somewhat displeased with her big reaction: “What’s wrong? Do you think you’re still too young? Or do you plan to never get married?”

Shen Yao Xing tossed away the shattered porcelain pieces in her hand and carelessly wiped off the tea on herself. Her flushed face had not yet faded. Seeing her mother speak like this, she went along with it: “Yes, I am still young. I’m not in a hurry for this. I don’t want to get married.”

She said several “no”s in a row. Seeing Mother Shen’s face grow increasingly dark, she showed no fear.

“Besides, when you called me back, didn’t you say you wouldn’t force me into marriage anymore!”

Mother Shen unhurriedly placed the teacup on the side tea table and glanced at her, saying: “Did I personally say that to you? I don’t remember at all. Don’t try to brush me off with non-existent words.”

Shen Yao Xing hadn’t expected this person to actually renege. This was clearly what she had told Hei Sha and Bai Sha to relay to her! Now, for the sake of this marriage matter, she was even willing to discard her face like this.

Shen Yao Xing felt very stifled. Her hands tightly clenched into fists as she gritted her teeth and forcefully resisted: “If you won’t admit it, then call Hei Sha and Bai Sha here. They personally said it was your words!”

When the young girl was angry, her cheeks would unconsciously puff up slightly. She probably didn’t even know this herself. Mother Shen’s fingers rhythmically tapped on the tea table surface, feeling that her daughter’s thoughts were still too naive.

“Oh? Do you want to call them to verify, to see if they listen to you or to me?”

These words directly blocked Shen Yao Xing. Although the three of them usually got along well, Hei Sha and Bai Sha were extremely reverent towards Mother Shen. When Mother Shen was present, they wouldn’t even dare to make a sound. If they were really called over now, they certainly wouldn’t dare to stand on Shen Yao Xing’s side.

It seemed this reneging would be carried through to the end.

Since that was the case, Shen Yao Xing also didn’t beat around the bush with her. She flopped onto the grand chair, her whole body radiating rejection: “I won’t get married!”

“That’s not up to you.” A blue vein bulged slightly on Mother Shen’s temple, very displeased with the young girl’s improper demeanor.

“I won’t get married!”

The young girl was now like a child throwing a tantrum, just clinging to these four words. Her whole body lay stiffly on the tall chair, just short of rolling on the ground in protest.

Mother Shen’s expression grew increasingly gloomy. This posture of neither sitting nor standing greatly challenged her patience. When she saw the young girl’s foot step onto the chair, her hand slammed heavily on the table as she shouted sternly: “Sit properly!”

Shen Yao Xing, who had been muttering “I won’t get married”, was startled by the sudden harsh voice and nearly lost her grip on the armrest and fell off the chair. Her mouth trembled, and finally pouted. She glanced at the enraged person and silently sat up straight.

Mother Shen took a deep breath, trying to speak reasonably with her: “Do you know how many noble young ladies in the capital desire that Young Master Yin but cannot have him? His family background is illustrious, and his appearance is also good. Now that you are already acquainted with him, if we could bring him into our family, it would be a great help for our clan.”

Seeing the young girl’s expression hadn’t softened, Mother Shen continued: “In the future, if you can meet someone you truly love, as long as their status isn’t too lowly, I will allow you to bring them into the household. How about that?”

Shen Yao Xing listened with furrowed brows, feeling that Mother Shen’s words were quite despicable: “Mother, how can you say such things? Do you want me to marry him as a person, or do you just want the wealth and power in his hands?”

“What’s the difference?”

“Tsk.” Shen Yao Xing was rendered speechless by these despicable words, and also felt it was very unrealistic: “Mother, you might as well give up. As you said, so many noble young ladies desire him but can’t have him. How could he possibly look upon me favorably? You should just give up.”

That Young Master Yin gave her an especially familiar feeling. She really disliked that feeling. Forget about marriage, she wanted to take a detour to avoid him from far away just at the sight of him.

“You’ll understand when you go with me.”

After all, having experienced the field of romance, Mother Shen could see something. That Young Master Yin dared to refuse even the Emperor’s decree, yet came to attend this small banquet at their mansion and even sent gifts to her daughter. The meaning behind this couldn’t help but make people think.

“I won’t go!” Shen Yao Xing stood up from the chair, raised her chin, and said righteously: “Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to be rejected? I won’t go!”

Mother Shen frowned: “How many people have been rejected and it’s just like that. Besides, what face do you have left to lose?”

Didn’t the meaning of these words imply that she had no face to begin with? This was truly her birth mother!

Shen Yao Xing’s face was extremely sour, but she saw that Mother Shen didn’t pay any attention to her and continued to arrange for her: “In a couple of days, we’ll go to propose marriage. Remember to prepare yourself by then. You absolutely cannot have this sloppy appearance. What kind of behavior is that?”

When Mother Shen decided on something, no one could change it. Shen Yao Xing didn’t say anything more and silently returned to her courtyard alone.

As soon as she entered her bedroom, she hurriedly closed the door, tossed the cloth bundle onto the bed, carelessly rolled up a few pieces of clothing and wrapped them up, planning to leave as soon as night fell.

Unfortunately, ginger is spicier when it’s older. Knowing she wouldn’t easily acquiesce, as soon as Shen Yao Xing returned to her courtyard, Mother Shen had sent several people over to guard her, layer upon layer, inside and out. Forget about a person, even a fly would have difficulty flying out.

Shen Yao Xing tried different methods, even exchanging clothes with Qing Shu was of no use. Those guards all had sharp eyes; they could spot even if her hair was half an inch shorter.

She was in despair. It seemed Mother Shen was determined to have her marry this time.

Shen Yao Xing lay sprawled on the chaise lounge, staring out the window with lifeless eyes. Even when someone knocked on the door outside, it couldn’t elicit a response from her.

“Zhao Zhao?” It was Song Si Nian’s voice.

The young girl glumly rolled over on the chaise lounge without responding.

Then came the sound of the door being pushed open. Song Si Nian silently gazed at the young girl’s back, turning to gently close the door behind him.