After sending Wen Ning back, Shen Zhou went straight out in the middle of the night to find Qiao Yanxin.
His feelings toward Qiao Yanxin were complicated. The first time he met her, his heart hadn’t stirred much at all.
Qiao Yanxin’s looks were ordinary, the kind that wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. In fact, Shen Zhou couldn’t even recall the exact scene of their first meeting—it had been when he went to the Qiao household to see Qiao Feng.
But what left a deep impression was at Qiao Feng’s birthday banquet, when Qiao Yanxin produced that jade pendant.
Shen Zhou froze. He had seen that pendant before—it belonged to the little girl who had once helped him.
He walked over, looking at Qiao Yanxin carefully for the first time. Yet even then, he couldn’t recognize her. He asked if the pendant was truly hers.
Qiao Yanxin blushed and nodded.
At the time, Shen Zhou had secretly rejoiced—he thought he had finally found his benefactor.
Over the years, he grew close to Qiao Feng, and because of that, he paid special attention to Qiao Feng’s sister.
Rumors spread that they were childhood sweethearts, but Shen Zhou only regarded her as a younger sister.
Then Qiao Feng’s father was exposed for corruption and bribery, and Qiao Feng was sentenced to exile. Before leaving, he entrusted his sister to Shen Zhou.
The once high-spirited youth matured overnight.
Shen Zhou promised he would protect Qiao Yanxin—not only for Qiao Feng’s sake, but also for his own. If not for that little girl back then, he might have been sold off by human traffickers. His kindness toward Qiao Yanxin was not just for Qiao Feng, but also to repay that childhood debt.
But now someone was telling him… he had repaid the wrong person.
When Shen Zhou arrived at Qiao Yanxin’s courtyard, he saw that Duchess Xu had indeed kept her word, arranging a fine residence for her. Not luxurious, but elegant and refined.
Duchess Xu had even assigned her a matron.
Qiao Yanxin was startled to see him appear so late at night. Glancing at her own disheveled state, she grew flustered and embarrassed. “Brother Shen Zhou, why have you come at this hour? I—I should tidy myself first.”
Shen Zhou’s eyes darkened as he looked at her. “I came tonight to ask you something.”
Qiao Yanxin stopped in her tracks. “Go ahead.”
Shen Zhou asked, “That jade pendant—was it truly yours?”
Qiao Yanxin’s heart gave a jolt. She knew very well how important that pendant was to Shen Zhou. She had admired him since childhood—the heir of the Duke’s household, son of General Shen, noble and outstanding. In all of the capital, what girl didn’t admire him? But she also knew her own plain looks would never catch the young heir’s eye.
Though Shen Zhou was close to her brother, she only dared to steal glances at him, never confessing her feelings, until her brother’s birthday, when she accidentally dropped the pendant. It hadn’t even been hers originally—she had simply picked it up and kept it because it looked pretty. Unexpectedly, that pendant turned out to be linked to Shen Zhou. When he asked her about it, she had, on impulse, claimed it as her own.
From that day on, Shen Zhou’s gaze toward her was completely different.
Shen Zhou had always been self-disciplined when it came to women. Even at spring banquets designed for young men and women to meet, he would only stay among the boys—riding horses, leaning against bridges, drawing his bow to shoot birds—never seeking out the company of girls.
Such an outstanding man suddenly lowering himself to care for her in every way…
Qiao Yanxin knew Shen Zhou did not love her. But what did it matter?
He didn’t love anyone else either. And Shen Zhou had said he would look after her for a lifetime—that was enough. But later, Shen Zhou married. And he married a beautiful girl like Wen Ning.
Qiao Yanxin panicked. She thought for many nights. Even if she could only be Shen Zhou’s concubine, that would be fine. After all, he would never mistreat her. Finally, she gathered her courage and confessed her feelings to Shen Zhou at Baihua Pavilion, declaring she was willing to be his concubine. Unexpectedly, Shen Zhou refused. He said she was his benefactor, and he would care for her all his life—but not in that way. Then he left.
Qiao Yanxin was both humiliated and angry. But since Shen Zhou avoided her, she had no choice but to shamelessly force her way to him. She hadn’t expected Duchess Xu to intervene.
Unlike Shen Zhou, Duchess Xu had always looked down on her. With Duchess Xu present, she could forget about ever entering the Shen household.
Qiao Yanxin hated Duchess Xu bitterly, but she was powerless. She had a premonition: if she rejected Duchess Xu this time, she might truly spend the rest of her life in Baihua Pavilion. She never imagined that within half a day, Shen Zhou would come to her.
At first, Qiao Yanxin thought he had come to comfort her. She believed Shen Zhou had feelings for her—that was why he came late at night, defying his mother’s orders just to see her. But before she could rejoice, his harsh questioning struck her like a blow.
Her voice trembled with panic: “Of course… of course it’s mine.”
Shen Zhou looked at her, his cold voice growing sharper: “Miss Qiao, you know I can uncover the truth.”
Qiao Yanxin stared at him in disbelief. Miss Qiao? Before she produced the jade pendant, he had always kept his distance, politely calling her “Miss Qiao.”
But after mistaking her for the pendant’s owner, every time he saw her, his eyes softened with a smile, and he affectionately called her “Yanxin.”
Qiao Yanxin gave a bitter smile: “You already know. Why bother asking me?”
Shen Zhou’s expression darkened instantly. “I want to hear you say it yourself.”
Qiao Yanxin bit her lip and said, “Fine. The jade pendant wasn’t mine—it was something I picked up.”
Shen Zhou stepped back a few paces, clenched his fists, and, after taking a deep breath, said, “For the sake of your brother, I’ll have someone deliver living expenses to you every month.”
Qiao Yanxin froze. “Brother Shen Zhou…”
Shen Zhou looked at her, his expression cold and distant. “Miss Qiao, everything I’ve done is only because I promised Qiao Feng I would take care of you. You and I are not close. Please address me properly as ‘Heir.’ Also, I don’t want to see you again.”
At that last sentence, Qiao Yanxin lost control and tried to grab his sleeve, but Shen Zhou avoided her.
“No… It’s not like that. I was wrong to deceive you about the pendant, but after all these years, was your care for me false?” Her face was streaked with tears as she struggled to look at him. “The pendant may have been a lie, but my feelings for you are real!”
Shen Zhou did not linger for even a moment. As he left, he said, “If not for that jade pendant back then, I would never have looked at you twice.”