Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Taking Advantage of Someone’s Misfortune or Not
That year, Ms. Shen Chun went out to seek medicine.
Shen Zhi intended to accompany her, but was stopped by Shen Wei.
He said.
"The examination hall awaits you shortly. Who out there doesn’t know that I, Shen Wei, am blessed with such a promising son like you? If you succeed, it would bring honor and glory to our ancestors. You should be at home, studying diligently. Do not venture outside."
Shen Zhi agreed willingly, but took the opportunity when he was unwatched to board the carriage. Fearing that Ms. Shen Chun would send him away, he deliberately hid under the seat.
It wasn’t until they left Fengzhou City that Ms. Shen Chun realized there was an extra person in the carriage.
You Qing was stunned. The desolation on her face could no longer be concealed. Once again, looking at Shen Hua, the girl blinked sorrowfully, tears of panic streaming down.
She exhaled and finally spoke hoarsely.
"Madam and Shen Wei have been at odds for a long time."
That year, when she went to the main courtyard to serve tea, she heard the sound of porcelain shattering from inside Ms. Shen Chun’s room.
——Shen Wei, it was under my guidance that the embroidery workshop stabilized its footing in Fengzhou. I recruited the embroidery ladies from all over, and I managed it with great care. You look after the trading and handle the business affairs, things I never interfere with. Since you don’t understand a stitch about embroidery, it’s best you stay out of the workshop’s matters.
Then a male voice followed.
——This is not a matter of discussing with you. Now that the embroidery workshop is completely stable, why must you tire yourself daily by involving yourself in it? A respectable lady should not keep showing herself in public anymore.
You Qing couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh: "In the beginning, Madam personally put great effort into establishing the embroidery workshop, what would Shen Wei, an outsider, know about it? Not speaking against being in public in the morning or evening, but as soon as the workshop became unrivaled in Fengzhou City, he wanted to swallow it whole."
"From then on, the two often quarreled endlessly over this matter, and Madam was unwilling to budge."
"Until Aunt Liu entered as a concubine."
She looked sadly towards Shen Hua: "You were young back then and naturally didn’t know that Aunt Liu was originally one of Madam’s capable embroidery ladies in the workshop. Her needlework was even better than Aunt Sun’s at the time. Shen Wei wanted Aunt Liu to work in the workshop for him, to usurp Madam. Aunt Liu of course refused, but she could no longer hide her pregnancy. Madam, out of kindness, knew that an unwed mother would be spat upon and cursed to death in this world, so she decided to bring Aunt Liu into the household. Later on, the Second Lady was born."
The more Shen Wei saw that Ms. Shen Chun was unyielding, the more he attended social gatherings. Maybe the estrangement between husband and wife already existed, but in front of others, they still appeared affectionate.
"A few years went by, and Madam’s health grew increasingly poor, nearly beyond salvation. Madam was so frightened she’d stay up all night at her bedside, and wouldn’t meddle with the embroidery workshop affairs. Later, when you recovered, and your brother had already passed the child student examination at an age unmatched by anyone else in Fengzhou City, Shen Wei reconciled with Madam."
Shen Hua’s hand under her sleeve was tightly clenched.
She knew Aunt Liu had exceptional embroidery skills, but rarely saw her sew, except when she was making clothes for her and Shen Zhui. She just never imagined there was such a backstory.
"Madam despises the greediness of the second family, but, after all, though bones may break, the sinews still hold them together. There was one time she sent me to deliver a sum to the second family."
You Qing felt nothing but contempt, almost too disgusted to speak.
"What I encountered was—"
Xie Xun felt a tightness in his heart.
"What did you encounter?"
"I encountered Shen Wei, who had always claimed he was leaving Fengzhou to travel for business, secretly meeting with Xue Yiwang."
"The people of the second family probably have been covering for him for quite some time."
Xue Yiwang was Shen Xue-shi. The two of them had a secret affair a long time ago.
Xie Xun clenched his fist and shattered the teacup in his hand.
You Qing’s expression turned grim: "Shen Wei also saw me."
"I was almost strangled to death. In the struggle, I stabbed the scissors into his chest and then ran back to the Shen Family like a madwoman, telling Madam everything."
Ms. Shen Chun grabbed her arm at once: "Is he dead?"
You Qing, with blood on her hands, said: "I don’t know."
Terrified and shivering, she cried out: "Madam, did I commit murder?"
"Pack your bags, and leave, leave Fengzhou immediately."
"... Are you abandoning Ah Qing."
To this day, You Qing still remembers the desolation on Ms. Shen Chun’s face.
——With high walls built around Shen Family’s great mansion, despite my abilities, I cannot leave; Ah Qing, I cannot go, nor can I ensure your safety.
——It’s better this way, leave and never return, don’t send any messages either. Once settled, find a good family and marry off.
At the time of the incident, You Qing had suspicions about Shen Wei, but Shen Zhi was also implicated.
————
After leaving the Fang Family’s home.
The girl remained silent with lowered gaze, past events resurfacing before her eyes one by one.
Were Shen Wei and Shen He Wen truly at odds?
After the incident, the clan elders and Shen He Wen came to visit time and again, all urging Shen Wei to remarry.
Shen Wei declined many times.
Was all that for show?
He had already been intimate with Shen Xue-shi.
Yet he still had the audacity to bring it up in front of her.
——Yangyang, Daddy misses your Mama.
She was treated by the Shen Family like a peony known for her frail beauty, nurtured for decades, unable to withstand even the slightest adversity, fragile beyond words.
But...
She trusted Shen Wei, especially during those days after her brother and Mama had passed. The girl began to suffer from sleepless nights. She thought she was jinxed, that her mother and brother succumbed due to her ill fate.
Shen Hua couldn’t hold back her sobs.
"Brother."
Shen Hua lowered her head, tears plopping down unrestrained.
"Was Mama in great pain when she fell off the cliff?"
"She was wounded by several swords, blood drenched. Her greatest concern was you."
"Yangyang, brother lets you know this not to make you cry, but because you should know what kind of person he is."
Her eyes were dry in disbelief: "The spices were supposed to be for Mama, had he anticipated that ultimately Mama would pass them on to me? So, once my health declined and Mama had no heart for the embroidery workshop, he could take advantage?"
"Is it because he felt guilty that he later gave me plenty of silver?"
Xie Xun also didn’t know whether telling her this was right or wrong.
"Brother hates him, yet he is also aware that at least he cares for you."
But... those weren’t nearly enough to fill his desires.
Having exploited Shen Hua once, he became increasingly indulgent with him.
Thus, afterwards, the incense brought to Shen Hua no longer contained that fatal ingredient.
But by then, Shen Hua’s health had already deteriorated. An endless flow of tonics was futile.
————
After returning to the East Courtyard, the injured girl curled up on the bed, her body pressed against the wall, occasionally wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.
As time went on, her head too began to throb with pain, and between blurry tears, her eyelids swelled unbearably.
Cui Yun bent over to cover her with the blanket properly.
She suddenly pouted.
"Do I look especially ugly when I cry?"
"Not at all."
"Then you write an eight-hundred-word essay on my beauty and read it to me."
Cui Yun paused.
Shen Hua, like a petulant cat: "You hesitated, you’re unwilling, is it that difficult? Do you think I’m being unreasonable?"
Having said that, the girl pulled the blanket over her head, clearly unwilling to speak any further with him.
It’s unclear how much time passed before she tentatively pulled the blanket back, revealing a pair of pitiful eyes.
"I didn’t mean to bully you."
Shen Hua: "Right now, I feel like choking at the sight of anyone. I’m usually quite reasonable."
Her voice weak, she said, "You better leave."
Cui Yun remained silent as he took off his cloth boots and got on the bed. He pulled her underneath the blanket with himself, his voice clear and melodious from above her.
"I was just thinking about something, and I got lost in thought."
Shen Hua watched him.
"Do you really think writing eight hundred words can stump me? But that sort of thing would be improper for a cousin, only fitting for a bride."
He said, "I am pondering whether saying these things to you would count as taking advantage of your vulnerabilities."
The girl stayed silent, her neck beginning to flush.
He pulled down a corner of the blanket, fearing she might suffocate.
"Go to sleep, the sky won’t fall. Your brother is back, and I’m always here too."
Her voice muffled: "You’re pretty unscrupulous."
"Could it be that you can’t marry me, that deep inside you are itching uncontrollably, feeling hopeless for the rest of your life?"
Cui Yun chuckled softly: ... "Yes, I’m still waiting for Miss Shen to save me."
Maybe it was that rationality tends to be scarce at night. Or possibly, she began to fear losing him and wanted to hold onto the man before her tightly. Her eyes darted around, pondering something unfathomable.
Before long, she struggled a bit. Cui Yun thought he was holding her too tightly and had just loosened his grip, but unexpectedly, in the next moment, she threw back the blanket and rolled into his arms.
Shen Hua, although with eyes red from crying, gleamed brightly as she looked at Cui Yun, who was as handsome as the moon in Shengjing City.
"Then you should hold me like this."
"For a bride, you’d owe four times as much! Eight hundred words are hardly enough."