Chapter 24

These past few days, Shen Yao Xing has been exhausted, spending her days either accompanying others shopping or being forced by her mother to deliver things to people’s houses. Now the capital is abuzz with rumors about the two of them.

Even without going out, she could hear the servants in the mansion gossiping wildly. Saying they were a match made in heaven was the mildest of it. Someone had even started a rumor that their eight characters were destined, and that not even the Heavenly Emperor could separate them.

Even though Shen Yao Xing had thick skin, she couldn’t bear to listen anymore. Moreover, that Yin gentleman seemed to be just playing with her. He had promised to speak to her mother about refusing the marriage, but several days had passed without any news.

Just thinking about it made her furious. Shen Yao Xing turned over on the tree branch, closing her eyes and not wanting to pay attention to the person below.

Qing Shu hesitated for a moment under the tree, then looked up and said to the person in the tree: “Young Miss, the madam is calling for you.”

“Not going.”

“But…”

“I said I’m not going!” Shen Yao Xing’s voice was quite impatient. She didn’t need to guess to know her mother’s intentions in calling her over.

Seeing that the young lady was already somewhat angry, Qing Shu closed her mouth, not daring to say more. She silently left the courtyard, intending to report back.

The weather was nice today. At noon, the sun wasn’t too strong, and the courtyard was shaded from the scorching sunlight by clouds. Occasionally, small fish would jump from the surface of the pond, the plop of water sounding like musical instruments. The air was accompanied by wisps of cool breeze, the green leaves swaying slightly, soothing away the irritation in her heart.

But before she could enjoy it for long, she heard footsteps coming from afar. The young lady’s fine brows furrowed slightly, the irritation that had just been suppressed faintly resurfacing.

“Young Miss!” Qing Shu was slightly out of breath, looking up at the person in the tree. She pointed towards the main gate: “Lady Chu is here to see you!”

The young lady, who had her eyes closed, opened them to a slit. She swung her crossed leg, then closed her eyes again and said indifferently: “Then let her in.”

“No need to trouble yourself, I’m already here.”

The voice reached the courtyard before the person did. Chu Yi, holding a jade fan, walked gracefully into the courtyard. She glanced at the dazed maid standing to the side and waved her hand, signaling her to leave.

Qing Shu lowered her head, glanced at the figure in the tree, and slowly retreated from the courtyard.

“Not coming down?” Chu Yi sat down at the stone table under the tree, reached out to touch the teapot on the table, and only after confirming its temperature did she leisurely pour herself a cup of tea.

The young lady yawned, suddenly flipping over to lie face down on the tree branch. She glanced at the person below, rested her arm on her face, and seemed quite nonchalant, “What business do you have with me?”

“Nothing much, just attracted by the tales of you and Young Master Yin.” Chu Yi glanced at the tea leaves floating on the surface of her cup, teasing languidly.

“Tch” Knowing it wouldn’t be anything pleasant to hear, Shen Yao Xing pushed off the tree trunk, flipped to the side, and easily jumped down, landing right in front of the stone table. She sat opposite the woman, picked up an apple from the table and took a bite: “You believe those ridiculous rumors outside?”

“I believe some and disbelieve some.” Chu Yi’s peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, staring at the young lady’s face. Her finger stroked the rim of the cup as she continued: “Last time you told me you didn’t know Young Master Yin, but on the day of your family’s banquet, Young Master Yin came to congratulate you. Now they’re saying you two are engaged. After all this, I’m truly curious, so I came today to ask you about it.”

“Crunch” Shen Yao Xing took a bite of the apple, explaining indistinctly: “Those are all rumors. That Young Master Yin and I aren’t engaged at all. It’s not as exaggerated as they say.”

“Not engaged? But everyone outside is saying you’re about to get married.”

This is the terrifying part of rumors. Probably in a few more days, they’d be saying the two of them were already in the bridal chamber.

“However…” There was a hint of confusion in the woman’s brow: “If it’s as you say, that you’re not engaged, then why doesn’t Young Master Yin come out to clarify? These rumors are of no benefit to him.”

Men value their reputation the most. Logically, a proud man like Young Master Yin should care even more about this aspect. Why would he allow rumors to spread unchecked?

Shen Yao Xing shrugged: “Perhaps he simply doesn’t care to address it.”

Chu Yi fell silent, fanning herself with the jade fan. She glanced at the courtyard entrance, finding it quite amusing: “It seems these days it’s impossible to ask you out to play. There’s a circle of people outside. It looks like Madam Shen is afraid you’ll fly away and never return.”

Shen Yao Xing glanced at her sideways: “Don’t gloat.”

The two chatted for quite a while before Chu Yi left. Originally, Shen Yao Xing wanted to return to her bedroom for a nap, but before she could stand up, she saw Qing Shu hurriedly running into the courtyard.

“What is it now?”

“Young Miss, there’s someone else here to see you!”

“Not seeing anyone.” The young lady said without turning back.

“But…” Qing Shu had a habit of hesitating and stammering, seeming unsure how to describe it. After gesticulating for a while, she finally said: “That young lady said her surname is Meng.”

Meng?

Shen Yao Xing was stunned.

It’s Meng Xin Yi!

Like a prisoner finally released, the young lady let out a cheer, quickly bypassing the dumbfounded Qing Shu and running outside.

When she saw the woman at the main gate, all the unpleasantness in Shen Yao Xing’s heart temporarily vanished. She excitedly went to greet her, her mouth curling into a smile, revealing white teeth: “Why did it take you so long to come find me?”

The young lady seemed to have finally found a kindred spirit, her whole being brimming with happiness.

It’s been a long time since the young miss smiled so brightly, thought Qing Shu, who was following behind.

Meng Xin Yi was still wearing a blue robe. Hearing this, she smiled gently: “I was delayed a bit in Taizhou City.”

“Then how did you know where I live?” Shen Yao Xing was puzzled, she didn’t think she had mentioned this to her.

“As soon as I entered the capital, your name was the one I heard most. I heard you’re about to get married?”

“……” Shen Yao Xing rubbed her forehead, almost forgetting about this matter.

She invited Meng Xin Yi to her courtyard, explaining the situation along the way. Once they entered the courtyard, Shen Yao Xing flopped weakly onto the stone table.

Meng Xin Yi looked quite sympathetic: “This… is indeed rather pitiful.”

The young lady lying on the table let out a weak whimper.

“So what do you plan to do next?”

“Of course, I must leave!” Shen Yao Xing suddenly sat up straight, glancing at the courtyard entrance. She made a gesture to Meng Xin Yi: “Let’s talk in my bedroom.”

Once in the bedroom, the young lady closed the door and eagerly said: “Didn’t you once say you could do disguises? Quick, help me!”

“But… disguises will always have some flaws. If someone looks closely, they can still tell. You can’t even leave the mansion, so who do you want to disguise as?”

“Just help me with the disguise, I have a plan.” The young lady was confident.

Half an hour later

Shen Yao Xing stared wide-eyed at herself in the bronze mirror. She leaned closer, raising her hand to gently touch her face. The texture wasn’t as smooth as her own skin, feeling more like paper, with a sense of tightness.

But the appearance was perfect!

“I only have this kind of skin powder with me. It won’t last long, and you can’t make too many expressions, otherwise it will easily crack,” Meng Xin Yi stood behind the young lady, explaining while helping her fix some fine lines on her jaw.

Shen Yao Xing nodded, continuing to examine this face, a face almost identical to Qing Shu’s.

Noticing the person peeking at the door, the young lady narrowed her eyes and beckoned to her: “Qing Shu, come here.”

“Young Miss…” Qing Shu looked up pitifully. Seeing the face identical to her own, she still turned pale with fright. Knowing the young lady’s intentions, she became a bit anxious: “If the madam finds out, she will surely punish this servant!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let my mother punish you.” As Shen Yao Xing spoke, she took out a square jade pendant from a box next to the dressing table. It was engraved with the character for ‘star’, left to her by her father. Even her mother would soften at the sight of it, and surely wouldn’t punish her too severely.

Half an hour later, the three walked out of the bedroom. “Qing Shu” followed behind the other two with her head slightly lowered. “Shen Yao Xing” and Meng Xin Yi walked side by side. Looking closely, one could notice that the young lady’s movements were somewhat stiff and unnatural.

“Shen Yao Xing” slowly walked to the stone table under the tree and sat down.

“Yao Xing, I’m leaving now. I’ll come find you again when I have time in the future,” Meng Xin Yi said to the young lady who hadn’t even turned her face.

“Shen Yao Xing” slowly nodded.

The two figures left the courtyard one after another, and no one noticed anything amiss throughout.

It wasn’t until they were quite a distance from the Shen residence that Shen Yao Xing finally relaxed. After Meng Xin Yi helped her change to a new face, the two bought a simple carriage and headed towards the wide-open city gates.

As expected, Shen Yao Xing’s mother had indeed arranged people there. However, fortunately, the news of her departure hadn’t spread yet. Those people didn’t check very carefully, only glancing at the two of them before letting them pass.

It wasn’t until the carriage had traveled some distance that Shen Yao Xing let out a cheer and rolled around inside the carriage. She excitedly lifted the carriage curtain and asked the person driving: “Where are we going now?”

“Hmm…” Meng Xin Yi thought for a moment, then smiled and said: “Didn’t you want to go to Meihua River? Let’s go there and take a look.”

Shen Yao Xing naturally couldn’t ask for more. Having finally escaped, anywhere but staying in the capital would do!

————

As night fell, in a spacious study, a man was holding a wolf-hair brush and flipping through an account book placed on the desk. His delicate eyebrows and eyes were calm and indifferent, with the brush occasionally adding a stroke to the account book.

“Knock knock” The sudden knocking sound seemed extra cautious, as if afraid of disturbing the person inside.

“Come in,” the man’s voice was as cold as ice.

The study door was slowly pushed open from the outside. A middle-aged woman wearing a dark gray robe entered with her head lowered and back bent, taking small steps. She didn’t dare to look directly at the person inside, instead kneeling and prostrating herself on the ground. Her voice was slightly low: “Master, Young Miss Shen left the capital during the daytime today.”

The brush stroke on the account book paused, a drop of black ink fell onto the white paper, spreading like a black peony.

The man put the brush aside, his eyes even darker than the spreading ink. He raised his eyes to look at the person on the ground, silent for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the account book from the desk and threw it at the person.

The account book was thick and heavy. The person being hit clenched their teeth tightly, enduring without making a sound.

“Why do I need to be called back for such a small matter? If there was a traitor, just kill them. If you can’t even handle such a small thing, what use are you?”

The man slowly stood up, drawing the long sword hanging on the wall. The sword body emitted a faint glow, and in an instant, the temperature in the study dropped rapidly. Wisps of cold air floated out from the window.

The woman kneeling on the ground felt the cold piercing to her bones. She tried to suppress her fear, and after her pale lips trembled, she cautiously opened her mouth: “Manager Sun holds great power. This servant didn’t dare to make decisions rashly, so… so I had no choice but to trouble the master!”

The study fell into silence again. The woman knelt tightly on the ground. Although her body was cold, the sweat on her forehead hadn’t stopped, dripping onto the ground drop by drop.

“Do you know which direction?”

The cold question almost made the woman raise her head. She stared at the ground close to her, quickly understanding the man’s words, and hurriedly replied: “Young Miss Shen seems… seems to be heading in the direction of Meihua River!”

The man stood barefoot in front of the desk, his cold eyes examining the long sword in his hand, half of his face immersed in shadow.

“Meihua River…”