Chapter 55

Shen Yao Xing was dazed for a moment, lowering her gaze to the crimson blood spots on the ground.

Scanning the surrounding mess again, she couldn’t help but close her eyes in frustration.

Qing Shu, who had just returned from sending someone out of the manor, stood at the door with a bewildered expression. She carefully avoided the debris on the floor and walked to the young lady’s side, exclaiming in shock, “Young Miss, what… what happened here?”

Everything was fine just a moment ago, how did the bedroom end up in such a state in such a short time?

Thinking of this, Qing Shu nervously looked at the young lady, her gaze scanning from head to toe: “Young Miss, you’re not hurt, are you?”

Shen Yao Xing shook her head and sat down dejectedly on the only intact chair. She stared blankly at the crimson blood spots for a while, then irritably ran her fingers through her hair, messing up her neatly arranged locks.

It was clearly his fault to begin with, yet now she felt guilty herself. Moreover, she hadn’t intended to hurt him earlier, thinking he would dodge…

That kick of hers was not light, and although he was formidable, he wasn’t made of iron. Taking such a hit would surely require several days of recovery.

The items in the bedroom were all broken to pieces. Although she wanted to keep it a secret, the most intimidating figure in the manor was still Mother Shen. In less than half a day, she had already learned of the incident.

Under a round of questioning, Shen Yao Xing stammered and couldn’t explain the reason for the incident. Fortunately, Mother Shen didn’t investigate too deeply, only ordering people to completely replace everything in her room.

Early the next morning, Shen Yao Xing was pulled up by Mother Shen while still drowsy. With eyes barely open, she frowned unhappily: “Mother, what are you doing…”

Mother Shen’s face was calm, wearing a blue official robe, her hands clasped behind her back as she silently looked at her. After a while, she said, “Today, you will accompany me to the palace.”

“Ah?” Shen Yao Xing rubbed her eyes, glancing at the still dark sky outside the window, even more confused: “Mother, you’re not asking me to attend court with you, are you?”

The young lady’s foolish words made Mother Shen frown in displeasure: “You don’t understand anything and don’t hold any official position. What court would you attend?”

So it wasn’t about attending court. Shen Yao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, pulled the blanket, and fell back onto the bed. Yawning with half-closed eyes, she asked vaguely, “Then what business do you have, Mother?”

Mother Shen looked down at the young lady on the bed from above, suddenly raising her hand to beckon towards the door.

Just as Shen Yao Xing was puzzled, she glimpsed Qing Shu walking in carrying a basin, heading straight for the bed without daring to raise her head. In an instant, she sensed something was amiss and abruptly sat up in bed, throwing the silk blanket to block the incoming water.

She narrowly escaped.

Shen Yao Xing curled up to the inner side of the bed, eyes wide open glaring at the shrinking Qing Shu: “What are you doing splashing me?”

“I told her to do it.” Mother Shen raised her hand to signal Qing Shu to withdraw, then continued with her hands behind her back, “From today onwards, at this hour every day, you will start doing the assignments I give you. You can only leave the courtyard when you finish them.”

“……” Shen Yao Xing hadn’t expected it to start so soon, and it was even more stringent than she had imagined.

Mother Shen was about to leave after speaking, but paused at the door, turning back to add: “I will come to check after I return from court.”

“……”

Shen Yao Xing stared woodenly at the desk on the other side, piled high with books, with writing brushes and ink already prepared. No wonder she had gone to bed early last night, vaguely seeing Qing Shu carrying loads of things into the room in her drowsy state. So it was for this.

For a moment, Shen Yao Xing felt utterly hopeless. She was not one suited for wielding a brush, and just looking at it all made her dizzy.

She was already starting to regret using this as a bargaining chip.

“Young Miss, please wash up quickly, otherwise you won’t be able to finish,” Qing Shu brought in another basin, considerately twisting the knife in the young lady’s heart.

With no other choice, Shen Yao Xing got up to wash. By candlelight, she looked at the dense, complex characters in the book, her brows furrowed enough to kill a fly.

By the time the sky was bright, she had barely finished reading one book.

When Mother Shen came to check, she was already out of spirit, propping her chin and reciting the words halfheartedly.

Seeing this, Mother Shen frowned slightly, picking up a sheet of paper the young lady had written on. The scrawls on it fully demonstrated the young lady’s unwillingness and perfunctory attitude. She tossed the paper onto the desk and snorted coldly.

“Is this what you meant by being willing to listen and study?”

Shen Yao Xing glanced at her somewhat guiltily, lowering her head and pretending not to hear.

Mother Shen, still in her official robes, stood with her hands behind her back, staring at the top of the young lady’s head for a while. Finally, she sighed helplessly: “How can I entrust the Shen family to you in the future if you behave like this?”

The young lady’s hand holding the brush paused, then the ink-stained brush tip began to randomly dot the paper, appearing increasingly distracted.

Mother Shen’s face showed displeasure. Just as she was about to lecture her, she saw the young lady suddenly look up with a serious expression.

“Mother, why don’t you have another child?”

This wasn’t the first time Mother Shen had heard these words from the young lady. Even when accepting Madam Song into the family, this daughter would often mutter about having another child. Other people’s children all hoped to be the only daughter in the family with no sisters to compete for the family business, but found it difficult to achieve. Hers, on the contrary, longed for another addition to the family every day.

A trace of helplessness showed in Mother Shen’s eyes as she changed the subject: “Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet.” Shen Yao Xing yawned, touching her stomach, realizing she was indeed a bit hungry.

“Let’s have breakfast first then.”

They chose to have breakfast in the courtyard. Servants entered in a line carrying tea and dishes. As the food was served and Shen Yao Xing was about to pick up her chopsticks, she was interrupted by Qing Shu rushing into the courtyard.

Mother Shen had long lost patience with this tactless servant. If not for Zhao Zhao’s regard for her, she would have been driven out of the manor long ago.

“Whatever it is, wait until after the meal to speak.”

These words made Qing Shu, who was about to blurt something out, shrink back. Seeing the young lady wink at her, she silently retreated from the courtyard. Only after the long breakfast was over did Qing Shu dare to come forward and report: “Young Miss, there’s someone outside saying they want to see you.”

Shen Yao Xing was pouring tea for Mother Shen without looking up: “Who is it?”

“It’s… it’s that Miss Meng who came last time.”

Miss Meng?

Shen Yao Xing’s brain paused for a moment, but when she realized who it was, her face instantly lit up with a smile. Mother Shen beside her slowly sipped her hot tea, glancing at the cheerful young lady, and said indifferently: “Is this someone you met outside?”

“Yes! Her name is Meng Xin Yi. When I first went out, I was lucky to have her take care of me, otherwise I wouldn’t have even known which way to go.”

The first time she left the capital, she knew nothing about the outside world, didn’t know where to go or which roads to take. She had just walked around asking for directions until she met Meng Xin Yi and finally got her bearings.

But Mother Shen didn’t see it that way. In her view, it was this Meng person who had led her daughter astray, always wanting to run outside: “Those people from outside have unclear backgrounds. You’d better not get yourself into trouble with them.”

“Mother, you’re overthinking it. Meng Xin Yi is a very good person.”

Mother Shen knew that saying more would be useless. After finishing a cup of tea, she left the courtyard, specifically instructing her to complete her assignments before leaving.

As soon as Mother Shen left, Shen Yao Xing was like a wild horse off its reins, quickly walking towards the manor gate. Just as she opened the door, she saw a woman in a blue robe with her back to the gate, looking at something.

“Meng Xin Yi?” Shen Yao Xing called out.

The woman’s figure paused slightly, then slowly turned around. Her face wore the same smile as always, giving people a sense of gentleness and elegance, not at all like those women who had spent years wandering the jianghu, but more like a scholar.

Not having seen each other for a long time, Shen Yao Xing was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly invited her into the manor.

In the courtyard, the blooming silk tree provided a shady spot. The breeze scattered many petals, dotting the ground and the surface of the pond with pink and white, creating a beautiful scenery that brought peace to one’s heart.

Seeing the young lady constantly bringing fruits, Meng Xin Yi raised her hand to stop her: “No need to trouble yourself, I ate something before coming here.”

Shen Yao Xing ignored her, only stopping when the table was full. She sat down beside her and asked excitedly: “When did you arrive in the capital? Did you come to find me?”

Meng Xin Yi nodded: “Of course I came to find you. On my way here, I heard quite a bit about you.” She looked at the young lady with a smile, teasing: “I heard that Young Master Yin is quite excellent, and handsome too. Now I’m quite curious and want to come see you to have a chance to admire his beauty.”

Knowing the woman was joking with her, Shen Yao Xing pouted without responding. Come to think of it, she didn’t know how he was doing after she injured him yesterday. Should she go check on him?

Thinking of this, the young lady’s face showed a hint of worry. Meng Xin Yi picked up a purple grape and ate it, her gaze casually sweeping towards the direction of the young lady’s bedroom. As if suddenly remembering something, she asked: “By the way, have you always kept that deerskin map with you?”

Shen Yao Xing was still thinking about that matter. Hearing this, she nodded absent-mindedly, picking up a slice of cut melon to eat, her voice muffled: “Do you want it?”

The young lady seemed completely unconcerned, not moved even knowing the huge temptation behind it.

Meng Xin Yi’s gaze rested on the young lady’s face for a long while before she shook her head and said softly: “I was just asking.”

The two chatted for a long time, and Shen Yao Xing even arranged accommodation for her in the manor, telling her to stay and play in the capital for a few more days before leaving. After making the arrangements, Shen Yao Xing rushed to the kitchen again and asked the cook to brew a pot of medicinal soup.

To prevent it from cooling, Shen Yao Xing directly carried the pot of medicinal soup to the carriage and drove towards the Yin manor.

Brewing medicinal soup for him would make them even.

At the Yin manor, a servant in light gray clothes blocked the young lady at the door: “Miss Shen, please go back. Our young master says he won’t see you.”

As expected, she was turned away at the door as soon as she arrived. Shen Yao Xing didn’t mind, holding out the two handles of the medicine pot to him: “This is medicinal soup I brewed for your young master. Tell him to drink it while it’s hot. Oh, and help me tell him that yesterday’s incident was unintentional. If the injury is serious, I can call a better doctor to come and check on him.”

The servant looked at the medicine pot in front of him, hesitating whether to accept it or not.

Seeing him not moving, Shen Yao Xing moved the medicine pot even closer to his face, stubbornly as if she would push it into his face if he didn’t take it.

The servant remained hesitant, his gaze quickly sweeping to the side before carefully accepting it.

Shen Yao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said in a clear voice: “These herbs are all of the best quality, very effective for internal injuries.”

She paused here, scratching her neck with some guilt: “Regarding yesterday’s incident, please help me tell him I’m sorry, but he was also at fault. Today I’ve sent this medicine, so we should be even. From now on, we’ll have no more involvement with each other.”

After saying this, Shen Yao Xing quietly said thank you and turned to leave the Yin manor.

As the carriage gradually moved away, the servant turned to the side with the medicine pot, carefully addressing the man standing behind the vermilion door: “Young Master, this…”

Jiang Ming Yue wore a light-colored long robe, his handsome features seemed to have been drained of color, without a hint of blood. He slightly pursed his pale thin lips, his eyes as black as an abyss staring at the black sand medicine pot.

The young lady’s last words echoed in his ears.

“No more involvement…” he murmured softly.

The stuffy pain in his chest once again disturbed his mind. Jiang Ming Yue raised his hand to cover his left chest, gritting his teeth, his eyes fixed on the medicine pot with swirling darkness. He suddenly raised his hand and knocked over the medicine pot.

The hot medicinal dregs and soup spilled all over the ground. The servant lowered his head deeply, not daring to breathe.

Jiang Ming Yue’s face grew even paler. He glanced gloomily at the debris on the ground and left without looking back.