Lu Shiji’s eyes swept over Shen Lichu’s soft, delicate face. His voice was calm. “Cousin.”
For some reason, a chill ran through Lichu, sending shivers down her spine. She instinctively shrank back a little.
The Duke smiled. “We’ve prepared a feast to welcome you home.”
The old matriarch nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Shiji, you’ve been traveling all this way. Sit down and eat.”
Everyone gathered around Lu Shiji, bustling to make him comfortable at the table.
Shen Lichu froze for a moment until Madam Shen tugged her gently. “What are you staring at? Eat.”
Snapping back to herself, Lichu looked at Lu Shiji. He was talking with the matriarch and the Duke, a faint smile on his lips, gentle and refined. Maybe she had misjudged him earlier, she thought.
Madam Shen noticed Lichu’s gaze and smiled, tapping her forehead lightly. “Eat first.”
“Oh,” Lichu said, following her aunt to the table.
Since it was a family gathering, no strict seating was arranged. Everyone sat around the same table, warm and cheerful.
Lichu sat next to her aunt, by the old matriarch. Lu Shiji took the seat beside the Duke, with the younger members of the Lu family filling the rest.
“Brother Shiji, congratulations on your safe return,” said Song Qinghe softly from the far end, her eyes betraying her longing.
Lichu glanced over. The girl, around sixteen or seventeen, had delicate eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and wore a pale green spring dress. Her slender figure moved gently, and even her voice was soft. Lichu blinked, thinking how beautiful she was.
Lu Shiji nodded slightly. “Are you well here in the mansion?”
Song Qinghe lowered her head. “Everything is fine. Thank you for worrying, Brother Shiji.”
The old matriarch chuckled. “Qinghe thought of you every day and worried you’d be hurt in Dingzhou. She read every family letter several times over.”
Qinghe blushed. “Grandmother, don’t tease me.”
Madam Shen’s smile faded a little.
Lu Shiji said, “Sorry to make you worry.”
The old matriarch sighed. “As long as you’ve returned safely, that’s what matters.”
Shen Lichu looked at Lu Shiji’s noble, handsome face, wondering how someone so serene and unworldly could quell rebellions and fight with a bloodied sword.
His calm eyes met hers, catching her dazed stare. A faint chill entered his gaze as he lowered his eyes, lifted his cup, and drank it in one go.
Lichu hesitated. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it seemed her cousin didn’t like her much.
“Ah Li, this is your favorite roasted rabbit. Why aren’t you eating?” Madam Shen offered her a plate.
Lichu looked down at the crispy, tender rabbit meat, her eyes lighting up. She smiled. “I love it.”
She picked up the silver chopsticks and enjoyed the meat, forgetting all doubts.
The Duke continued talking with Lu Shiji about the rebellion in Dingzhou.
Lu Shiji answered calmly, but his gaze flicked to Shen Lichu across the table.
She was happily eating, her round cheeks puffed out as she signaled the little maid to help serve her. She didn’t glance at him even once.
His fingers tightened around the cup, knuckles pale, his dark eyes deepening. Yes, she had never been considerate.
After the family meal, Lu Shiji followed the Duke to the study to discuss official matters.
Having just returned to the capital, with the emperor rewarding him repeatedly, Lu Shiji had already become influential in court. The Ning Duke’s household naturally had to be careful as well.
Shen Lichu, full from the meal, followed her aunt back to the Jin Xiu Garden.
Since Shen Lichu was staying temporarily at the Duke’s residence, she naturally lived in her aunt’s courtyard. Madam Shen had specially cleared out a small twostory embroidered pavilion for her, with everything inside arranged to match the style of the Shen family’s home in Jiangnan.
Lichu was the youngest daughter in her family. She had been spoiled since childhood by her parents and brothers, and her aunt, Madam Shen, also doted on this only niece.
Madam Shen had only one son, who was fifteen this year, and three concubineborn daughters. She had no biological daughter of her own, so she treated Lichu as if she were her own child.
Madam Shen pulled Lichu to sit with her on the soft couch and smiled as she asked, “You saw your cousin today. What do you think of him?”
Lichu thought of Lu Shiji’s immortallike face, and her soft cheeks flushed slightly.
Madam Shen chuckled and pinched her cheek. “Well now, our Ah Li knows how to be shy.”
Aunt Cai, standing nearby, laughed along. “A young lady has grown up. Of course she knows what it means to be shy.”
Lichu immediately protested, “I’m not!”
“Of course, of course. Our Ah Li isn’t shy at all,” Madam Shen coaxed her.
After a moment, Lichu hesitated. “But… why do I feel like my cousin doesn’t really like me?”
Madam Shen paused. “How could that be? You only just met today and barely spoke.”
She patted Lichu’s hand, comforting her. “Shiji has always been distant by nature. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t still be without even a single maid in his chambers. Don’t overthink it.”
“But he seems quite concerned about Miss Song…”
“Nonsense!” Madam Shen cut her off, frowning.
“The Song family has long since declined. It’s only because of a bit of past friendship with the first madam that she was taken in and raised here. Shiji only treats her like a younger sister.”
What standing did Song Qinghe have, to compete with her Ah Li?
Lichu still sounded uncertain. “Is that so?”
Madam Shen smiled. “Ah Li, do you still lack confidence? Who in this world wouldn’t like our Ah Li?”
Hearing that, Lichu straightened her back. “That’s true!”
Madam Shen spoke earnestly. “Your cousin is now a rising star at court, highly favored. Countless noble families in Yanjing are coming to propose marriage. This is an exceptionally good match. Your aunt will plan everything carefully for you. You only need to wait and marry in with peace of mind.”
Leaning into Madam Shen’s arms, Lichu thought of Lu Shiji—pure as moonlight, elegant beyond compare—and her heart began to pound.
A man like that… who wouldn’t like him?
“Mmm, I’ll listen to you, Aunt.”
Madam Shen smiled and patted her hand. “Good girl. Go back and rest.”
Lichu left, light on her feet like a little bird.
Watching her happy figure disappear, Aunt Cai couldn’t help sighing. “The young miss is still so childlike.”
“She’s still young,” Madam Shen said with a smile, shaking her head.
In truth, she wasn’t that young anymore—she was already sixteen—but her family had pampered her, unwilling to let her worry about anything.
Aunt Cai lowered her voice. “It’s just that… the heir’s marriage may not be something he’s willing to let others decide.”
After all, marriage was traditionally decided by parents and matchmakers.
But Lu Shiji now held real power at court. Even the Duke might not be able to control him anymore.
The smile on Madam Shen’s face slowly faded. “A marriage still can’t escape the will of one’s elders.”
How could she not know that Lu Shiji’s wings had already grown?
That was exactly why she needed Shen Lichu to marry him.
Men were different, after all. Within the household, she could still keep her stepson somewhat in check, but outside the family, he was free to rise as he pleased.
And he happened to be extraordinarily gifted.
Now that his power and influence were growing, he had become a rising star of the dynasty, and she could no longer suppress his edge.
Meanwhile, her own useless son, Lu Silang, still spent his days fooling around.
If she weren’t truly out of options, she wouldn’t have been forced to play this final move.